Must love mustangs!

Kachina

2012-01-06T19:26:00.000-08:00

The following pictures were taken after a light dusting of snow a few days ago, which is totally gone now, with our thawing temps (crazy WI winter!). I turned my horses out into the big pasture for a couple days because they've been in their little pasture since October. I like to get them off the pastures before they go dormant then turn them back out only after the snow is deep enough to keep the horses from damaging the dormant plants. But we haven't had enough snow this year! So I decided the dusting was enough to protect the really short grass and get them out of their small pasture. They were in heaven, and I was happy to be able to see them from the sunroom. Alas, it warmed back up and the snow is gone again, and they are locked back in their small muddy pasture.

The high today was close to 50 and the ground was wet and muddy in places where it had thawed overnight because the low never got below freezing. My horses were spunky and all spooked and took off as I walked through the pasture carrying a plastic bag that had treats in it. Griffin and Kachina especially took off and wouldn't come near me. Having never been formally introduced to plastic bags, they didn't know that they often have treats in them. The rest of my horses spooked and snorted, but came right back to investigate and get their treat reward for overcoming their fear of the bag. So I was quite surprised after I'd passed all the way through the pasture to the tack shed, picked up my halter and came back into the pasture that it was Kachina that first met me. This time I didn't have a bag, just a halter and leadrope, so I guess I wasn't as scary. She let me halter her with no tossing her head. I had actually caught her easily with a treat the previous evening to check her front feet as it looked like she was a little off on one side, so she expected to be caught with a treat today. I had made plans to catch and saddle either Catlow or Chico, but both were standing far away, back through the treacherous slippery mud. I opted to take Kachina out since she was right there, not yet sure what I'd do with her.

I filled my pockets with treats and took her to the round pen. She was snorty and high-headed at first as I led her toward the trailer, then past the scary garden shed up to the round pen, but once in the round pen, she settled pretty quickly as her buddies all lined up to watch just on the other side of the fence. I did my usual with her; started lunging calmly, but quickly remembered that she was just a tad off on the right front. She wasn't super lame, just a tad off at the trot only circling to the right. I didn't want to stress her leg, not being able to determine what was wrong with it. There was no swelling or heat, and her hoof looked clean. I imagine maybe she just sprained it a little in the mud. So instead of lunging, we just did some walking work. I led her over the drain tile scraps that I had saved to serve as obstacles in the round pen. She dropped her head to snort at it, then stepped over it with her front feet fairly calmly, and then almost came unglued when her hind foot clipped it and made a noise. She just about jumped on top of me, but I was expecting her to be a little spooky over it, so I was safe. We did it again, and she accidentally clipped it again with her hind feet with the same over reaction to it. Then, the third time, she was more careful with her feet, and the fourth time too. The fifth time, she got lazy and clipped it again, but it no longer freaked her out. I did some more desensitizing with the rope and also my stick and string, and then made sure she was soft and would bend her neck laterally with a soft pull on the rope.

Then, I decided to see how she'd be going for a short walk. She didn't appear to be off at all at the walk, so I figured it wouldn't hurt her anymore than hanging out the the pasture would. I wasn't sure how far we'd be able to go, simply due to the muddy conditions and Kachina's reaction. This would be the first time ever that I'd lead her anywhere except the immediate vicinity of the farmyard and roundpen. I didn't want to take her far if she wasn't ready for it, which I thought she might not be since she's always been the spookiest, flightiest, most reactive horse. But, as we started walking, she dropped her head, and walked beside me rather calmly. She would stop and raise her head to get a better look at something every once in a while, but overall, she was actually very calm. I was so surprised. I expected her to get the most uptight when leaving the herd behind. So we kept walking. Even when we disappeared behind the hill and could no longer see anything familiar (we were no longer alongside the pasture that she has been in), she didn't change her calm demeanor one bit. And we walked past all kinds of things that I would have thought would scare her, as spooky as she is about things when I've introduced her to them in the past. Piles of logs, an electrical box out in the middle of the grass, the cabin, a tarp covering a wood pile, the pond ice, the dogs jumping out of the brush all around us. Nothing caused her undue alarm. She noticed them, but we just kept walking past everything and she gave all these things a glance but then just kept up with me. We also did a lot of "whoa" and back a step as I led her because she's not very good at it yet. By the end of our walk she was slowing down when I said whoa but still required my stopping and the pull on the halter to stop completely, and she was backing with a much lighter pull on the halter. She did not spook at a single object, just eye-balled a few things. And she only had one flighty moment. I stopped her a few times in an open area and asked her to lunge at a walk around me. The second time I asked this of her was down by the pond, and I think she was a little nervous inside, even though she wasn't being overly reactive to anything because when I asked her to lunge, she jumped away from me started blindly trotting around me. When I asked her to stop, she did a screaming turn and took off the other direction. She wouldnt' stop, but amazingly wasn't trying to pull away from me either. At one time I got her to face up, but she came into me too fast and was walking her face into me, so I pushed her away, which send her into another frenzied blind trot around me. I finally got her to stop and she was huffing and puffing and quite worried then, but as we took off walking again with me leading her, she calmed right back down and there were no more instances like that the next time I stopped to ask her to lunge around me. The next time was not at the pond. So, aside from that one little frenzied lunging event, she was actually amazing on our walk. I expected her to be spooky and dangerous and she wasn't at all. Just goes to show what I know! I guess I should not jump to any conclusions with her. And I need to suck it up and just tie her solid to something. I actually don't think she'll be as bad as I was thinking she would be. She respects the rope quite well. So, I need to find the right thing to tie her to...it's too muddy in the pasture and I'm not sure I have anything else stout enough outside the pasture right now. This summer we will bury a stout post up alongside the roundpen to practice tying too, but we don't have it available yet.

Kachina is a pretty little mare, but when she drops her head and leads beside me calmly and respectfully, yet still interested in her surroundings, she is even more beautiful. I shouldn't work with her if I plan to sell her because it reminds me why I got into the mustangs in the first place and then I get attached all over again and want to keep her for myself! But, I do need to work with her because it will ensure that she gets a chance at having a useful life and being taken on by someone who is worthy of her.

A side note: Sassy, the pintaloosa mare that we sold last spring, seems to doing well. I hadn't seen her at all last summer ( I think her new owners had her in training), but now that it is winter, I can see her in the pasture alongside the highway when we go to town. She is turned out with their beef cattle, a couple donkeys, and another appaloosa horse. She looks good from the road. I'd be interested to hear how her new owners like her, but they must since they didn't contact us about giving her back last fall, which had been part of the original deal.

And onto 2012

2012-01-03T20:14:00.000-08:00

Well, I survived my last semester at school, but I blogged less than I ever have since starting my blog a few years ago! The semester went well, but my time was pretty focused on school, then Wren (when I came home and she was awake), then school in the evening after she was asleep. And weekends were focused on family when I could, but studying when I had tests looming early the next week, which thankfully were not often.

While I did visit them in the pasture (Wren really likes the horses), my horses have mostly been ignored.

I did make time for some hoof trims and did ride once or twice over the course of the semester. Now that I'm on winter break (for a whole month!!!), and the holidays are over with, I finally feel rested and recovered. And I have now ridden three times since Christmas! I know! That's a lot! And I have the sore butt to prove it!

Sadly, I've put the young horses on the backburner and really have not done any work with them, even though I had Griffin ready to work with me before school got busy. I've really decided that I need to downsize my herd, but that is so hard to think about. I worry about where they will go and what may ultimately happen to them. So making that decision is really hard, but I know I will not have the time to work with them. My original three are never for sale (Cody, Chico, Catlow), but the others are all being considered up for sale. I'll work on that more this spring, since I doubt anyone is looking to add to their herd in the middle of winter.

And my nice snowy horse picture that I added to my header is sort of deceiving. That picture was taken last winter in February. We had a lot of snow. This year, we have NO snow so far (the pics in this post were taken about a week ago and reflect what we truly have, with the exception of the dusting from a couple days ago which will be gone when it hits melting temps tomorrow). It's been a crazy mild winter. A blessing in some respect (it sure makes it easier to feed our 150 cows and horses and I've been able to ride anywhere I want), but I do miss the snow. I guess I won't be cross-country skiing anytime soon!

And even though I haven't blogged at all, I have still kept up with most blogs I've always followed, just reading them whenever I needed a mental break while studying...which is often! I hope you all had wonderful holidays!

Fall

2011-10-29T20:43:00.000-07:00

I have been pretty busy with school. I've been able to do a few things with my horses (primarily maintenance stuff and riding the old steady-eddies), but Griffin has really been put on the backburner. Today, the weather was so nice. I had to get out and do something with him. We went for a walk in the late fall woods. He is such a good boy.

Stopped to try to get a nice shot of him with the yellow leaves in the background, but he wouldn't stay back and kept following me when I tried to back away to get a pic.

The bright maples have pretty much lost all their leaves, but the brownish red oaks and yellow aspens are still holding on.

Griffin has very soft eyes. They were not always like this.

You can see the faint whitish scar on his cornea that is currently remodelling - it used to be much more opaque. I think it will eventually go away completely.

My mom watched my daughter while I played with Griffin and she took this picture of me working with him in my neighbor's arena. It was the first time I'd taken him over there, but he was pretty relaxed about it. In fact, as I was talking with my neighbor about the fact that Griffin can still occasionally be reactive when I move too fast toward him, and I tried to demonstrate by jumping at him and startling him, he didn't hardly react at all! He just backed away from me, but there was no overreaction. I think his overreacting primarily happens when he's loose in the pasture and hasn't been around me for a while.

The horses got a new round bale today and they are quite happy. They are not so happy that I haven't let them out in the pasture for a month and a half now, and the grass is still green. I wanted the pastures to get a bit of a break before winter. They've been heavily grazed for several years now, and are showing signs of damage in the favorite grazing spots (the lawns). There is still a lot of taller grass (the roughs), but they prefer to go over and over the same short spots and the poor grass there is starting to thin out and it doesn't recover even after it's had a break. It needs a whole year off, but I'm not sure how to give it that. That would require fencing in the field around the pond, and I don't really want to do that. It's too nice to have to ride in.

Belated post - Labor Day ride

2011-09-22T20:52:00.000-07:00

This post is very belated, but I've been busy! I just now decided I needed to take a break from studying and do something "horsey" even though I'm stuck down in Madison right now. So, I found some pictures I haven't posted yet!

These pics are from a ride that my husband and I took with our neighbor's, B and J, over labor day weekend. We trailered to a nearby dirt road where we could ride someplace new and not have to hit pavement at all. My horses stood patiently at the trailer...I love that...a calm sleepy horse tied to the trailer waiting for their ride.

The road meanders through a lot of county land and is primarily wooded with a few logged areas. It is also home to a lot of wildlife. We saw wolf tracks several times along the road (I'm pretty sure they are wolf, as they are known to be in the area).

Todd rode "his" horse again. He and Cody got along pretty well, except that at one point when we were cantering, he said she planted her front feet and gave a hop...I didn't see it happen. But I wouldn't put it past her. Todd isn't the most polished rider, so she could have easily been irritated by something he was doing, especially by over-cueing her to canter (which he admitted he did). But they got along just fine...that doesn't worry him at all, which I'm pleased about. He can handle it!

This is my favorite picture from our ride. B and J rode ahead a bit side by side on their walkers. They looked so cute together as they crested the hill among the trees.

My baby girl turns 1 year old this Saturday!!!! I can't believe how fast this last year went! I've enjoyed every minute of it and am looking forward to her ever changing future! She is so fun right now...saying some words, super mobile, giggly, good-natured, interactive, loves being outside and her animals (which is one of the hardest things about being in Madison during the week for school - she is just so outdoorsy so she feels cooped up in the apartment pretty quick). But she is doing super well and adjusted to the change really well too.

More Griffin time

2011-09-11T20:20:00.000-07:00

I worked with Griffin again this weekend. He was awesome once again. This time we added the blanket under the surcingle. He is completely non-reactive to it, even when I push him really hard. We began learning voice cues today for "trot" and "canter". I don't like to drill it into him...I just use the works as I ask him to canter with the stick and string. I don't expect it will take him long to connect it, since today I noticed that he knows the word "back". Imagine my surprise when he took a step back when I was just talking to him and my sentence happened to include the work "back". I have never tried to enforce just the word cue since I usually give a leadrope cue as well, but it seems he has figured it out!

We took a walk to the pond and he drank from the pond, and then followed me in.

But the duck that my dogs scared out of the cattails gave him a bit of a start.

The apple tree we came across was heavenly!

Back to school

2011-09-04T17:03:00.000-07:00

Today, Griffin learned some new things in the round pen. First, we lunged, did desensitizing, yielding the hind quarters, yielding the forequarters, lateral flexing and backing. He's done all that before, although it has been a long time since I've consistently asked him to do any of it. But we worked on perfecting his response to all those cues. We also learned to back up with a wiggle of the rope today rather than just the lead signal. Then, I used a small lightweight saddle blanket to desensitize him and get him used to wearing it on his back. He did great with this. I expected that since I've put a fleece cooler on him before without any problems. Then I got out the surcingle. I wasn't quite sure what he'd do with it, since the rings on it were very jingly, and there were strings hanging off it, but after the blanket, apparently the surcingle was absolutely no big deal. I practiced pulling it tight without buckling it first (no reaction, he got a treat reward for standing), then buckled it up snugly, but not tight. He paid no attention to it, even through flexing and lunging. And he's now becoming more comfortable with lunging. He's finally starting to understand that I'm not just chasing him around (he responds by snorting at first, whenever I begin asking him to lunge).

Griffin says "What do we do now?".

Friday was my first day of classes. Silly, I know, since then we got a 3 day weekend. But both Wren and I made it through, although not without tears on my end! I'm really dreading the next 3 years. It's going to be so hard to sacrifice my time with Wren to school. But I'm focusing on the end. We'll make it...I hope.

In the meantime, I really love blogging (posting what I'm doing and reading other's posts), but it takes a lot of time. Now my schedule is even more packed and to keep up with all the things I want to do, I think I'm going to have to let the blogging slide. I will still check in once in a while (probably once or twice a week), and I think I'll still post, when I actually get to do things with my horses (which I plan to try to do every weekend), but my posts might be more brief...and I might let the photos do the talking more than me. We'll see. I am just letting you know that I'm not going to dissappear forever, just become a lot less present.

In the meantime, you can see more of my horses in the pasture, since that is the view that I will miss the most while I'm down in Madison during the week in school. Well, that view and my daughter's beautiful face, but at least she is coming with me to Madison so I get to see her every evening and we'll be together all night long. Daddy is the one who will be missing out the most. He only gets to see us on weekends now. And now, I must go and enjoy my long weekend home.

The herd heads back toward the barn...probably for water.

Griffin lags behind.

But the herd is lolly-gagging so he easily catches up. He shows Kachina he's her boss by pushing her forward in front of him.

Riding with friends

2011-08-31T14:06:00.000-07:00

School is looming and this week has been busy with getting ready for that, so I've not ridden horse since the weekend. But this last weekend, I spent some time riding with my neighbors. Their daughter was visiting and they wanted to show her some of the trails and they asked me to come along! I rode Chico on one of the days, and Catlow on the other.

Remember I've mentioned that my neighbor has all dark horses? Technically, a few are dark bay, and smokey black, but from afar, it is difficult to tell the difference between them! And it is difficult to tell even when I'm riding with them! I always have to ask, because when they switch tack around, it makes the horses look so different!

These horses are Shady, Belle, and Honey Doll. Belle and Honey Doll are the two that B and J have been riding most often this summer.

The previous picture was taken from the point of a ridge that over looks our houses! You can see both my house and B and J's barn and shed. In the lowest shed belongs with the cranberry marsh visible on the left side of the photo.

We saw a turkey vulture in a dead tree alongside the trail.

The next day, their daughter rode Shadow (gelding) instead of Shady (mare). Shadow, even though he's a sibling of Shady's, is quite a bit flashier of a horse. He holds his head and his tail high and has a very swingy walk.

The three of them followed me up "Buck Pond Valley" to check out how much water was in the little pond (there was none - it's been dry).

There was, however, water in my parent's pond, so we all crossed on our way back. Belle (in the lead) and Honey Doll have been crossing the pond regularily this summer, but Shadow has only done it a few times and it is still new to him...you can tell by his expression (Shadow is far left).

But he went in sticking close to Honey Doll for some confidence.

And then he pawed the water.

I've had fun riding with my neighbors. It's crazy that this is the first year ever (in my whole life), that I've had a pretty large group of people nearby to consistently ride with. I grew up riding alone, rode alone most of the time out in Idaho, and even my first couple years back here. So I've really appreciated the company, but I still like heading out alone, just a horse and maybe a dog or two!

Family walks

2011-08-28T20:19:00.000-07:00

We had a family walk the other night. My honey and my sweet baby accompanied me as I led Griffin on a walk through the woods. Once again, Griffin was fabulous! He's so calm and level-headed. He is now getting so comfortable with me that he's starting to be bit pushy about treats and apples, so we'll start working on that now. How I deal with that mainly is offer less treats and make him have to earn them more. I'll back him up and when I get a nice respectful backup, he'll get a treat, but not if he's lipping at my hands when I don't even have a treat for him. I'd rather him be this comfortable in the beginning. I can fix the lippiness pretty quick now. We walked through the woods and ended up at my parent's house to chat.

I like to wear my helmet when I'm taking young horses for their first walks...you never know when/how they might spook and sometimes when they whirl, your head can be in the path of their head (and they have such hard heads!). I like to have a little protection...plus if they get too close to my head, I can just bonk them with my helmet and it makes them back off and give me a little space...they think my head is really hard then!

I love this picture of me leading him, but the color was pretty dull because it was so cloudy so I edited it. I kinda like the "sepia" look.

He had a lot of fun standing under my parent's apple trees and eating apples.

My mom's chickens look so happy and busy foraging under the apples trees. Right after I took this picture, we were all just standing around chatting when my parent's dog and my dog got in a fight...right next to Griffin. Griffin was startled, but not bothered. After his initial startle (threw his head up - he'd been grazing), he just stood and watched them as they worked it out. It was a brief fight. He really does have a nice temperament. I think he'll be bold and secure like Chico, but not quite as forward...Griffin seems a little stickier with moving than Chico.

And Griffin also has that typical gelding behavior...you know, where there is so much going on in their heads and the only outlet is to get into everything and be a pest? He is the horse that sticks his front leg in the water trough and gets it all muddy. He also tries to graze under the panels, even though he could walk out to the pasture and find nice grass there

And of course, he has to stomp and squash the rubber tubs that I occasionally feed them grain in (they get grain very rarely).

I guess maybe he's trying to tell me something?

2011-08-26T21:30:00.000-07:00

Today I rode Cody out on the trails....

with Griffin in tow!!!! He was really good! He was actually less worried by some things on the trail than Cody, my seasoned trail horse, was! Cody just gets a little bug-eyed about things sometimes, but usually they are warranted (for example, today, the trampled ground under some wild apple trees kind of got her acting balky, but she probably also smelled deer there recently).

We stopped here to take a picture of the nice view. It is hard to get a feel for how high of a hill we are on from a picture, but you can see we are above the level of the huge steel power line poles along the interstate on the left side of the picture. The trail going down this hill is a lot steeper than it looks in the picture too. We did not go down because there is a fence down laying along the left side of the trail and I didn't want to risk it with leading another horse.

Griffin enjoys the view too. He really was so relaxed on our ride.

Back at home, he made a pest out of himself by picking up Cody's bridle off the hitching post. I took it out of his mouth before he scared himself with it and got into trouble with being tied up.

I think I've made a loyal friend. After I turned him loose, I crossed the pasture to get back to my house and Griffin followed me the whole way. Maybe he just wants a treat, but it is amazing what a little positive association can do and how it can quickly change a horse from being evasive to interested and willing.

He even stood at the gate after I closed it in his face, wishing he could come through too.

Griffin's big day

2011-08-25T15:24:00.000-07:00

Every morning that I have arranged to have my mom come and watch Wren, as I'm getting Wren to nap, I am usually daydreaming about what I'm going to do with my horses, which horse I'll bring out....today I daydreamed about working with Griffin and potentially getting Cody out and teaching him to pony in the round pen. Well, often my daydreams are not what I end up doing, either because something with the horses dictates differently, or I just come up with other ideas as I go. What I ended up doing was getting Griffin up in the round pen. On the way there, he was a little leary about things in the yard, but he just looked at them and continued on with me. I let him sniff around and become familiar with this new place before I did anything with him.

He was pretty calm about the whole thing, slowly exploring. Then I got my stick out and "round penned" him loose, asking him to stay a constant direction until asked and when asked turn to the inside to change direction. He was a little snorty at first with me asking him to move, but he was hooked onto me immediately. I made him keep it up until he wasn't snorty anymore, then I asked him to face up and keep facing me as I walked back and forth in front of him. He was really good, remembering pretty much everything we'd done with our "mini-roundpenning" in the tiny mustang pen. We didn't spend much time in the round pen because it is so boggy (I'm deciding I don't like the sand - we may need to find something to add to it to firm it up). Since he settled down so quickly and became very comfortable with me, and is respecting the leadrope so well, I took him back down to the barn and tied him to the hitching post for the first time. I don't like to tie horses to this post if I think they may pull back because it is not set in the ground very deep (Cody has already pulled it crooked when she pulled back once and Sassy, the mare we had over the winter, pulled it even more crooked). So me tying him to the hitching post shows my confidence in him! I spraying him with fly spray, then decided to take him for a walk in the woods on the trails!

My dogs came along with me and were crashing around in the brush, but Griffin paid them no mind. After the round penning, he was very comfortable with me and was not leary hardly at all. He was interested, but it was a mild interest in the new places we went. He put complete confidence in me! I love that feeling. The only thing that really worked him up was the noise of my dogs splashing into the pond. The picture below shows him watching them run down to the pond from pretty far away still.

He got over being worried about that noise pretty quick though. We just went down and stood at the waters edge and watched the dogs go in and out. I led him back and forth and around and just asked him to check out the water, which he did. As we watched the dogs, I took a picture of his injured eye. You can see the cloudiness is receding, but the spot where the lesion was has become very opaque and white. But it is so low, that even if it doesn't go away, it's not going to be a hindrance to him.

Griffin shows off how over this he is. By the time we left the pond, the dogs were running into the water right at his feet and it didn't phase him. He did not volunteer stepping into the pond though, and I didn't want to make him go in right now because that was not the goal of this walk. Plus I was wearing my boots and didn't want to get them wet!

After the pond, we walked through my parent's yard, past the chickens and the orange tractor (walking through a narrow area with chickens underfoot without a moment's hesitation), then we came back through the wooded trails and ventured onto my neighbor's trails. We walked past their barn filled with horses, came out by their house, went down the driveway and past my husband's cattle farm. Griffin had a bit of difficulty with crossing a narrow washout, but with persistance and picking an easier spot, he crossed. He watched my husband's herd of 30 heifers running away with a bit of alarm (but who wouldn't be alarmed watching a mass of dark cattle kick up dust as they foolishly stampeded from the sight of a wild horse). His alarm was just watching them with a high head and side-stepping a bit. Then we walked down along the road and through the yard of my husband's business, complete with large scary machinery and racks of pipe.

Griffin is curious, but not alarmed by any of this.

We even went along the road, and watched 3 cars pass by, including a big silver tanker type-truck. Griffin was totally unconcerned by any of it (it helps to have your pasture border a road that semi's drive on regularily). When we got back, we stood tied for another couple minutes for a thorough grooming session before being turned back into the pasture.

Griffin was absolutely awesome on our walk. I couldn't have daydreamed a better outcome for my horsey-time! I was so proud of him and so pleased with his temperament. This horse has so much potential. I hope I have the time to bring it out in him! I don't think it is going to take much work.

Taking a young horse for a walk alone in the woods is the best thing for them. They have to rely on your leadership. If I were to pony Griffin, he would have assigned that leadership to the horse I was riding and not me. Now I know he trusts me pretty completely, and my trust in him has been pretty firmly established.

2011-08-24T21:14:00.000-07:00

I rode Catlow again today. This is her second ride this summer. Instead of going out alone, which makes her worried, I met up with the neighbors down by the pond. I wondered how Catlow would be meeting strange horses while out riding. Would it make her more nervous or would it make her feel more secure? When riding out with other members of her herd, she is totally calm.

Well, as long as Catlow has any other horses along, she feels more secure and isn't nervous and looking around constantly. It was funny when she met up with them...she showed only mild interest in them, then completely ignored them, even though she hadn't even sniffed noses with them! But just their presence was enough...she was pretty relaxed on our ride. Later on, we were resting and let the horses sniff noses. Catlow only sniffed noses with Honey Doll, then was over it. When Belle came over to sniff noses, Catlow looked away from her over the hill. She's not really all that concerned with her place in the hierarchy. Like I've said before, she is the #2 mare in the dominance hierarchy in my herd, but she is the lead mare. Everyone follows her. And many times today, the other horses followed her down new trails. We did some trotting, cantering, stopping and backing and working on circles. Catlow was great but her circles were more like eggs.

I really love riding Catlow because my Circle Y Flagstaff fits her perfectly. It also fits me perfectly, and Catlow is narrower than Cody and Chico so riding her is quite comfortable. Plus she is just a powerhouse. She might not look big, but she has so much heart and strength behind her.

Some firsts for the wild ones

2011-08-22T22:05:00.000-07:00

Today was a day of firsts for Griffin and Kachina. I didn't have a babysitter this morning, but my mom was willing to bring Wren over to the farm and sit with her while I did stuff with the horses in the afternoon. I trimmed Chico first. Then I caught Kachina. It was easy to catch her since I've been getting all my horses accustomed to treats lately. This comes after a frustrating day when it took me a while to catch Kachina even though she was closed into the smaller paddock area. I finally had to shut her into the 24 ft by 24 ft mustang pen in the back of the barn and "mini-roundpen" her until she started to face up instead of avoid me. She was terrible. And all I wanted to do that day was put fly spray on her! And she's not afraid of the fly spray...once I start I think she is happy about it having figured out it gets rid of flies. So today, I caught her easily as she was already following me looking for a treat.

Then....

I led her out of the pasture gate!!!! I've never taken either of the wild ones out of the gate before! They weren't ready before, and then, as you know, I was pregnant so not about to handle wild mustangs who were sure to spook at things once they were out of the familiarity of their pen. But an amazing thing happened while I left them alone these last couple years. They've both grown up (mentally and physically) and relaxed into their stable herd environment. In the little interactions I have with them every day, they've learned to trust me...and I hardly did a thing! And now that the round pen is up, I am so itching to work with them. To get them to that round pen right now I have to lead them up to it outside the pasture. So, I led Kachina out the gate. She hesitated at the gate, having stood at it, but never crossed through it, but then, she stepped right though. She was alert, but really, she was a lot better than I expected. I even convinced her to step her front feet onto the rubber pad I have down in front of the hitching post for trimming hooves. She did just about jump out of her skin when Griffin suddenly impatiently pawed the panels though. Then I led her up to the round pen. She was looking all over, but she followed me and went right through the round pen gate with no problem. I left her there to get used to it. My mom reported that she rolled in the sand, then followed my mom around as she walked around the outside of the pen.

I went back down to the barn area and this time caught Griffin. Griffin so wants to be messed with now that he's more used to it with his twice a day handling with the treat reward. He pretty much met me at the gate, and earlier in the day, I actually caught him way out in the pasture for the first time and led him down to the barn. Previously, I'd been able to approach him and rub him out in the pasture, but not always, and definitely not if I was holding a halter and leadrope! So this is a big difference! After I caught him, I took his fly mask off. Griffin really is a non-spooky secure horse. The loud obnoxious velcro ripping apart has never worried him (it drives Kachina crazy).

Then....

I tied him up to a sturdy post dug deep in the ground. I've never tied him before. I've never had a need to. Today, I decided he needed to learn to tie because I foresee taking him out and I want him to know to really give to the rope, and I also would like to perhaps start trimming him outside the mustang pen area. I always trim Kachina and Griffin in the mustang pen because they are comfortable there, but all the others get trimmed tied to the hitching post. So, there Griffin stood tied, and I walked away and left the pen so he could figure it out. I knew he would try to pull back to test it, and he did. He pulled back HARD, and then just stood there hanging on the halter for about 20 seconds. Then, he slowly leaned forward and took his weight off the halter and stood upright. He thought for a little bit, then started walking back and forth, then he set back again HARD! But everything held. I didn't have any metal hardware on the rope to break. Then he stood back up and stood quietly at the post...no more weaving and no more pulling!
My mom took all these pictures, and they are a little fuzzy because I think Wren put some fingerprints on the lens.

Of course, Griffin has been prepared for this. He knows how to give to the leadrope with flexing, leading and dropping his head to pressure on it. I've also been loosely wrapping the rope around a post when I trim him, but I'd not tied him tight. So, I think after another lesson or two with tying, he'll get that there is no point in pulling back. Kachina is not at all ready to be tied. She is a flighty spooky horse and I don't think she is comfortable enough yet to be restricted like that...she'd blow and I worry she'd hurt herself.

After Griffin's tying lesson, I led him out through the gate. He too stopped at the gate and was like, really? I get to go out? They always follow whatever horse I'm leading out the gate right to it, then stop when I shut the gate in their face...so this was new and he came out readily once he realized I meant it. Griffin stepped on the rubber trimming pad with no problem. He startled a bit whenever my mom stood up from her seat over at the picnic table (he is still very leary of other people) but I lead him around the yard and he did very well. He even dropped his head to eat some grass. I didn't do any more with him than that. I lead him back into the pasture and turned him loose without his fly mask for overnight. I am still concerned about working him with that cloudy eye. The lesion part is definitely getting smaller, but I feel like the cloudiness is becoming more opaque right under the lesion. Once he's healed, even if he does have scar tissue where the lesion was, I don't think it will affect his vision that much because it is in the lower rear portion of his eye. It will cause a minor fuzzy spot to his rear, but that's it.

Then I went up to where Kachina was patiently waiting in the round pen and began working with her. My little desert mustang moved easily through the boggy sand, although she definitely worked up a sweat. I round penned her loose and she came in nicely turning to the inside even with the increased space (compared to "mini-roundpenning" in her 24ft square pen. She got a bit hyped up at first with my "chasing" her, but quickly, she decided to come in and be haltered. I didn't halter her right away though. I spent some time swinging the halter around her since that seems to be one of her excuses to not let me catch her in the pasture. At first she ran but soon she stood and let me rub her all over with the leadrope. Then we did some desensitizing with tossing the rope all over her body and slapping the ground. She was flawless. Now, don't make fun of my outfit in these pictures. We had to buy these green overalls to wear when we are working with large animals at the vet school. I've discovered how easy they are to pull on over my shorts and tank top so that I stay protected when I am trimming hooves...so this summer they have been my hoof trimming outfit.

She learned these lessons well from the first summer she was with me. Then I lunged her attached to the lead line. She didn't quite understand and I had a hard time convincing her to leave at first, but she quickly realized what I was doing and was agreeable.

She remembered things well, so I decided to bring out a new thing to introduce her to. I started tossing a thin light-weight saddle blanket over her back. She was tense and flinching at first, but with repetition, she relaxed a bit and accepted it. When I moved to the other side, she just flipped out. Eventually she stopped moving and freaking out and I was able to toss it over her back repetitively on the other side. Then I went back to the first side. She stood accepting it for a bit, even appearing to no longer care about it, then suddenly she exploded and freaked out about that side...wierd horse. But I calmly kept at it and she stood still again finally, and then was good again for moving back to the other side. I left her lesson at that. She was glad to follow me back down to the pasture.

I had fun with them, and I'm so excited to do things with them. I want to start leading them out on the trails, and maybe I can pony them along soon. But school starts up in a week and a half. I wish we'd gotten the round pen up at the beginning of the summer. But really, I just started riding a lot this last month. The timing is what it is.

Riding with the hubby

2011-08-22T09:30:00.000-07:00

Sunday, I convinced my husband to come for a ride with me.

Afterall, part of the goal with sending Cody to a trainer last year was getting her tuned-up and been-there-done-that enough for me to not worry about her with my husband or anyone else.

Cody has been doing very well with her new bit. She is quite responsive and she really is a good girl. She does, however, test her new riders...and because of that she probably will never be a complete beginners horse. She's not naughty, she just tries stuff (always does, even with me) and if she gets away with it, she'll keep doing it. Just little things, like walking really slow, turning back toward home, pretending she doesn't really know what you mean when you ask her to turn and it is away from home, eating grass, trotting when she wasn't asked. She always tries these little things with me too, but simple quick corrections discourage her and she won't try them further. Part of the pretending she doesn't really know what you mean when you are turning her, could also be conflicting cues given by a rider that she's not accustomed to. But she does try it a bit with me when we are still at home in the yard and heading out.

Other than that, she is great. She's responsive...a simple squeeze will send her up into the next gait and another little squeeze will up it again. Todd had her cantering at one point when he squeezed to hard, but she's not naughty and they enjoyed a nice canter before he asked her to walk again. She was walking a bit slow for him though, and that's because he is not accustomed to "riding" his horse. He hasn't really ridden in over 20 years, he said. He grew up riding horses a lot, but they didn't ride with seat and legs...they rode with a lot of whoa and go using reins and kicking. In fact, they used to put bucking straps on their horses just to get them to buck! Crazy kids. Anyway, when I told him how to get Cody to walk faster by riding her faster, it took some practice for him, but he was pleased when he could get her to walk faster by using his seat and legs to push her a bit more. But she'd drop back to her slow pace when he quit. He's used to just sitting on a horse like it's a lounge chair. Most people like a nice slow horse, but Todd is a bit hyperactive himself...he likes that all business, quick pace.

I think it was good for him to just relax with Cody and let go of that. He said he had a lot of fun riding with me and he wouldn't mind doing it once a week...but I know that won't happen! I'll be lucky if I get him out once a month! He's got a lot to do and riding does take a lot of time out of that! But I'm glad he finally did it with me and saw what it was like so that next time I ask, he'll have that fun previous experience to draw on.

And we keep calling Cody 'his' horse, and he uses 'his' saddle on her, so that will probably help him too. He did tell me that he'd be more willing to ride with me if he doesn't have to do all the messing around with them before and after (which is the part I like to do anyway). I can tack up (which I want to do because I'm kind of particular about it when it's my horses) and call him when they are all ready to go and then he'll ride with me! Sounds like a good deal to me!

And the horses got to enjoy a nice roll in the sand when we got back! Cody accidently kicked Chico in the jaw in her exuberence with getting sand in all her cracks.

Round pen almost done!

2011-08-21T21:29:00.000-07:00

I can't even begin to tell you how excited I am about getting the round pen set up. It's been a dream of mine to have one for the last 3 years. I am SO excited! I want to share the setting up the round pen from start to finish in this post.

We actually started cleaning up the spot where we were planning to put the round pen earlier this spring, but we stopped when we got to the stuff requiring equipment to move. It was just sort of a storage area. Odds and ends, old barb wire, a rotting trailer, piles of logs, and even my horse trailer were all parked where the round pen was to go.

So, we jumped in where we left off and started moving the large heavy items out of the spot. I didn't think to get my camera out until they were almost ready to mow all the weeds down after moving all the stuff. It sure is nice to have equipment available to do all the moving stuff. The orange tractor belongs to my dad, and the bobcat is equipment that my husband owns with his business.

This is more equipment my husband owns with his business. A laser to measure and make sure the area is completely level. Awesome!

Now the area is pretty much flattened.

The final base of the round pen is set below the grade of the surrounding ground by about 5-6 inches. The base is sloped toward the center and the center will have drain tile dug in to make sure the pen drains well. It is also on the top of a hill, so it won't have water collecting into it.

Three loads of sand were delivered. We ended up buying sand instead of getting it from our neighbor because it is screened and rocks removed then. Even so, it is pretty inexpensive.

Before the sand was delivered, my husband used another piece of his equipment to dig the drain trench. The base grade of the pen is the lowest in the center, and the drain trench grade is highest in the center.

In the trench, we laid the drain tile (not sure why they call it "tile"). It is basically black plastic pipe that has slits in it so water can enter it. The outside is wrapped in a fine mesh fabric to keep sand out of the pipe.

Then we filled in around the pipe with sand. My husband really is the most amazing guy. He is so good about helping me complete my big projects that I couldn't do without him. And he is such a perfectionist! I'm not sure I've heard of anyone else whose round pen had drain tile under it!

Then we spread the sand with the bucket of the bobcat.

Doesn't it look nice!?

From this view standing below the grade of the round pen, you can see where the drain tile exits the base. I think it will drain well! I hope.

And of course, the round pen area is now a big sand box. And my baby girl was right there 'helping' all along.

On the last evening of the project, we brought the panels over and set them up. They were being used to sort cattle at the farm, so they are a little "poopy" but the rain will wash them off!

Wren is always in the middle of everything we do. Here she is holding onto the stake marking the center of the roundpen.

The horses are always around watching our activities with sometimes intense curiosity, sometimes boredom...little do they know what's in store for them!

As I mentioned in a previous post, we got these panels from the Chubby Baird Gate Co. They are 6ft tall and made with extra heavy duty steel. They are HEAVY! The links between panels are a pin-type attachment. I really like them. The only thing I don't like is that the way the the panels attach leaves a gap between them...and you know horses. Horses can find the most unlikely places to get hung up. So I can see potential for a leg or even a neck if a rearing horse were to hit the panel in just the right spot to get stuck. So they could be safer. But I think they will be fine. I try to never push my horses so hard that they want to escape by jumping the panels. And because we have 2 gates we've actually increased the diameter of the round pen. It is technically a 54 foot round pen.

From start to finish, this project took 9 days to complete, 10 if you count the day early this spring when we moved the smaller stuff. Of course, we didn't work on it all day long, mostly in the evenings after work. And of course, we are not quite done yet, but it is now completely functional. We still have to seed and mulch the surrounding landscaping, and then after the grass is established, we will reroute the fence back to where it was (we moved it back to make room for the landscaping). If you notice, there are two gates in the round pen. One gate will open into the pasture and the other gate opens outside the pasture. This will be so convenient.

I tried the sand out the next morning after we got it spread before the panels were up. I exercised Cody before a ride, and as I feared, it was really boggy. She had a very hard time moving around in it. But it was also pretty moist because the sand was wet when they dumped it. As it dries out, it may only get more 'surgary'. We'll give it some time. It may be alright. When we were setting the panels up it already felt much firmer and drier, but time will tell. Over time it will also mix with the base and firm up too, but that will be quite a while away.

I did excercise Chico in it before our ride this morning and it is not as boggy as it was a few days ago. It's still a lot of work to move in it, but it is better. I'm not currently planning to change it. Just wait and see how it settles.

I'm really very happy with the round pen. I wish Griffin's eye was okay because I'm dying to get him into it. But I don't want to push him when his vision is compromised and I certainly don't want to accidently get sand in his eye.

Pumpkin's moment in the spotlight

2011-08-20T21:09:00.000-07:00

Saturday morning I rode again. I actually thought I would trim both Chico and Cody instead of ride, but Cody's hooves were not long enough to trim...to trim them would have just made them too short to ride on gravel roads. So instead, I decided to ride Cody again and take Pumpkin out to pony her along.

Pumpkin has been the topic of conversation lately as I try to convince D that maybe she needs a little pony mule to cart train instead of her paint mare (she's been working with her to pull a surrey). D expressed interest in her but both parties at her house need to be on board for that, and so far we are mostly just joking about Pumpkin being her future pony mule. But it did get me thinking, so today I rode down to D's house with Pumpkin in tow just to say hi, then continued on some trails before we went home and rode through the pond. Pumpkin was quite a good little girl. She is pretty fearless. We rode along the gravel highway with dumptrucks and a surprising amount of traffic today. Her only vices so far are just her inability to stand still (she wants to get into everything) and related to that, when we are standing still, she often tries to duck under Cody's head. I keep a tight hold on her, but she is so short that the rope needed to keep her head at a comfortable level is long enough to let her try to duck under Cody's head. Thankfully, she is very good when we are walking/trotting, for the most part keeping up with Cody well and staying at our side. And when she does get a bit too far ahead or behind, she responds well to a little tug on the leadrope. I was pleased with her.

Pumpkin is 5 years old this year. She is only halter-broke as far as I know, but I figure if I often take her out with me like this, and perhaps find a pony saddle for her, by the time Wren is old enough to ride, Pumpkin will be a seasoned leadline pony. And I do have neices and nephews that would probably like to ride her and play with her too. She just loves attention. She's always the first animal to greet you at the gate. She follows me around when she sees me with the fly spray bottle and I don't even have to catch her to spray her from tips of her ears to her fetlocks. She stand quite still for grooming because she loves it so much. She is pretty good about her feet, but she does think that she can walk away while you are trimming unless she is tied up pretty snug. She annoys me sometimes because she is so in-your-face, but she is very personable. She also gets along with the big horses really well. She knows how to interact and she also stands up for herself.

Horse doctor

2011-08-20T07:24:00.000-07:00

I've been doctoring Griffin this last week. Somehow, he took a little slice off his cornea and his right eye is all cloudy and blue with the inflammation.

It bothers him; he squints a lot, but it's not that watery. He's been wearing a fly mask, and morning and night I catch him and put opthalmic antibiotic ointment in his eye.

It does seem to me to be doing slightly better, but the healing is slow. About a month ago Kachina had a linear scratch on her cornea in the same eye, but it watered like crazy. I did put some ointment in it and had a fly mask on her for a bit, but she was so scared of the fly mask, and I didn't have the time to work her through it, so after a while, I just let her be and she healed up just fine. It's not cloudy at all anymore. I have more time now and Wren has been pretty agreeable about coming with me and waiting in the stroller in the mornings. In the evenings, Daddy usually takes her with him to check cows to I can treat Griffin. The extra handling has been doing him really a lot of good. I'm only catching him, putting a fly mask on/off, and poking my finger in his eye, but I also give him a treat and spray him with fly spray every other day. Friday night he actually let me catch him out in the open in the pasture for the first time, and this morning he actually met me at the gate to be haltered. Usually, he just avoids me out there, so I don't even try. I just calmly walk him into the smaller corral area, then cut him off from leaving and he stands to be haltered. His eye is a lot cloudier than Kachina's ever was, so I really hope that he heals up okay without scar tissue. Only the rear half of his eye is cloudy and he seems to be able to see just fine toward the front. I doubt he can see much behind him in that eye. If you look closely at the pictures of his eye, you can see the oval shaped lesion. It is right down along the lower lid toward the rear of the eye. Don't worry if you can't pick it out in the photo. I think I can only ID it because I have seen it in person.

Big trail ride

2011-08-19T13:49:00.000-07:00

This morning, I met up with D riding her sorrel paint mare, Bailey. D lives about 3/4 of a mile from our house. She brought along her next door neighbor C riding Jack, a sorrel morgan with a flaxen mane and tail. We also met up with B and J riding their Tennessee walkers Belle and Honey Doll down by the pond on my parent's land. Belle was enamored with C's gelding, Jack.

Look at those beautiful doe-eyes she kept making at him! Jack paid no attention and the 5 of us took off for a trail ride.

We rode a different way than we usually do, taking some trails on another property where I had permission to ride. We had to ride the road for just a short ways to get there.

The owner had just mowed the trails so they were wonderful to ride on. The main trail goes along a ridge-top where we had some beautiful views.

I bet you didn't picture this when you think of Wisconsin, eh? Shhh! It's the best kept secret! WI is absolutely beautiful where we live, but I definitely am not in love with the southern part of the state (flat, lots of ag, and too many people).

On the way back, we went back to the pond on my parent's land to see if the horses wanted to get their feet wet.

Bailey decided not so much.

The pond was where we ended our ride and I headed home. On my way back, I ran into Wren and her two grandmas! My mom was watching Wren while I rode, and Todd's mom stopped by to visit!

It was a really nice ride, and now I think the people I rode with are going to try to get in touch with the landowner to get permission to ride there themselves.

More riding!

2011-08-18T16:07:00.000-07:00

My mom had surgery to clean the arthritis off a little bone at the base of her thumb, so she has been off work since last week. She can't do much with only one hand, but she sure makes a great babysitter while Wren is napping! Consequently, I'm taking advantage of having her around and this week, my mom has been coming over every morning around 9am when Wren goes down for her first nap of the day.

Then I take off and get my horse out. Sometimes I ride alone, sometimes I call my neighbors, and sometimes I don't ride at all - I trim one. I rode with a friend of my husband's for the first time earlier this week too. She has a large sorrel paint mare. I've been taking my camera along when I go out, but sometimes I still forget to take pictures. I did take this one picture of Cody after we got back from our ride.

Another wonderful thing I did this week was take Catlow out for the first time in 2 years. I'd been focusing on riding Chico and Cody more this summer because they have more riding time on them already and I figured if I had limited time, I should focus on them. Plus, Catlow can be quite nervous when ridden out alone, and I hadn't gotten the courage up to get her out and try her. But yesterday morning, the horse I was going to trim was out in the pasture out of sight, while Catlow, Cody and Chico were all in the barn keeping away from the flies. I'd just ridden Cody the day before and Chico the day before that, so I figured I might as well get Catlow out. She was due for a trim, and I figured I could saddle her up and see how she was...maybe take her for a walk in the woods (it rained a bit the night before and made the round pen base greasy, so I couldn't lunge in it). She was calm and good for her trim and saddling, but as soon as I began just asking her to walk around me in the yard, she started to get nervous and was responding to my soft slow cues very rapidly. I started leading her out into the woods. She was better than when I was lunging her (she often wants to respond too quickly to cues just due to still not being 100% comfortable with people asking her to do things). On an open spot on the trail, I lunged her again, and she was uptight at first, and concerned about being out alone, but quickly she began to pay attention to me and she settled down a bit, not overreacting to changes of direction and stopping. She was still worried though.

It probably helped that I had treats along so she got a reward every time she whoa'd and relaxed. Then I rode out around the pond. She was still nervous so she was walking fast (so fast she was "gaiting" at times but she doesn't technically "gait"), but she was responding well. Catlow has a huge motor powered by her nerves. She will push up hills without slowing and barely tiring. Because of that push and heart that she has, I enjoy riding her. I wish she could relax a little more when we are out alone, but perhaps that will come with age...or never. It is who she is. She is the lead mare and the watch mare in my herd, but Cody is above her in the dominance hierarchy. Catlow leads everyone from place to place and often is seen grazing apart from the herd. But that doesn't mean she's comfortable without them. They are always with her, except when I make her go out riding. Catlow is a totally different horse when I ride her out with another horse, either leading the other horse, or riding along. Then, she is totally calm. People who've ridden with me barely believe me when I tell them that Catlow gets nervous alone because they've never seen it and she is just so calm otherwise. After we left the pond, we came down into our neighbor's yard and chatted for a bit (Catlow had a hard time standing in one place, but by the time I left, she had relaxed considerably). Then we rode through my husband's pipe yard (very scary), and then home. It wasn't too long of a ride, but it was a good first ride out and I'm always so glad when I do something that I'd been avoiding and it turns out well.

Today, I rode Chico with my neighbors again. I was a little late getting on the trail (had to meet the dump truck with the sand for the round pen, YAY!), so I had to ride out and catch up to them. I took a few pictures of the trail on the way to where they were.

Then I popped out into the field on top of the hill. They were at the very far edge of the field. I could see their helmets gleaming in the sun, so we trotted to catch up. I didn't take anymore pictures after I caught up to them because I promptly forgot about my camera. Today, we came down out of the trails and rode along the highway for a while for something new. The highway is underconstruction and all tore up and gravel right now. There was no machinery on the stretch we rode today and the few cars that drove down it all were going very slow. So it was a good intro to the road and traffic for my neighbor's horses. Plus it was quite the obstacle course with all the signs and orange barrels. It was really good for Chico, who at first was very leary about going down the road past mailboxes today. Usually he's much braver, but today he was really bothered for some reason. Flies on his face, maybe the cinch, it's hard to say what all it was that was bothering him, but he was tossing and shaking his head a lot and getting rushy sometimes...then balking at going past mailboxes. By the time we left the road, he was much more relaxed with all the construction.

Tonight, we are going to get the drain tile dug in, then spread the sand around the round pen area, and maybe even put the panels up, but we'll see how much time we have. So excited!!!

Riding Chico and using the new round pen

2011-08-15T21:27:00.000-07:00

I exercised Chico in the spot where the new round pen will go, but all that is there right now is the flattened base and stakes to mark the edges. Despite the fact that the location does not have any fill/footing yet, it was so wonderful to lunge a horse on a flat spot! I've been doing it for the last couple years in the yard which is sloped. I really wanted to evaluate him to see if he's stiff, or if it might be the saddle that made him reluctant to canter last time. He's never been reluctant to canter before. He's always had a lot of go, but he is older now (7 years), and a bit overweight. Well, I saddled him up with the new saddle, but a different saddle pad (one I usually use with him). When I lunged him at the trot and canter, he was quite full of himself, arching his neck and really floating at the trot, and then at the canter he was still arched but sort of jumping...not really a buck, but not a nice fluid canter either. He did that last time I lunged him too (actually, he often does this almost buck thing when lunged at the canter when being warmed up), but I just wondered if he was doing it out of discomfort or out of freshness. Well, he did the jumping canter for several rounds and through several changes of direction, and then suddenly he switched to a relaxed 3-beat canter. So, I know he can do it. I'm still uncertain about the cause of it, but I suspect it is freshness.

Even so, I do think that he is a little stiff. The leg that he was cut on is his right hind, and he toes in a little on his left front (always has). Being a little stiff on that hind might make his diagnonal front compensate a bit more which might make him even more asymmetrical than the simple toe-in when he moves. Last time I rode with this saddle, he has a dry spot on the left side of his wither. While out on the trail after we warmed up, I noticed that my saddle kept feeling like it was crooked. I kept straightening it, then realized it was centered on his withers, but the rear of the saddle kept tipping off to the right. So, I think his left wither has a little more muscling which is pushing the saddle crooked and also giving him that dry spot. It's interesting, but I never noticed it in the old saddle that I always used on him. Chico didn't seem as reluctant to canter today on the trail either. He did seem to tire quickly, but I think he's overweight, and he's always been good at looking out for himself. When he's tired going up a hill, he has no problem stopping to rest. I stayed on my parent's land for my ride today because my dogs came along. We stopped at the pond so they could swim. Chico walked right in too and set to pawing the water.

I'm happy to report that he didn't really have a dry spot today after our ride using the different saddle pad with the new saddle.

Chico really has wide, round withers. And I've said this before, but sitting on him bareback is like sitting on a recliner. He is so comfortable. He might be a bit more round nowadays and more difficult to stay centered on though!

I wish I had more time to work with Chico, because it seems that he might need some work with getting the two sides of his body to match in flexibility and strength. He was a very good boy today. I took a pocket full of treats along with me when I lunged him, and then also had them out on the trail. It's amazing what a little treat will do for Chico's willingness. Not that he's bad without them, but his try is so much more obvious when he knows a treat might be in the future. And after I turned him back out in the pasture, he hung around the gate, waiting to see if I perhaps had a few more treats, even though all the others were grazing in the big pasture out of sight.

I am so excited about finally having a round pen to work horses in. Now, I feel like I can actually progress with the two wild ones. I'll have a large safe place to do exercises and introduce them to new things. And it will be big enough that they can actually move out! I used to work with them in their little BLM approved pens. I've messed around with Griffin out in the pasture on a lead line before, but he was confused about lunging because I never really do it with him - I've always been more about getting him to come to me than getting him to move away from me. My time with them is so sporadic and when I do work with them, it is totally unstructured, but I guess every little bit helps. Now, with a round pen available, I feel like I will be able to make more of a schedule to work with them...wait, except that I'm heading back to school in a few weeks. Oh man!

So, a bit more about the round pen.

A year and a half ago, in spring, I went researching prices for 50' round pens. I was specifically looking for 6 ft high panels to use with working wild ones, and I wanted extra heavy duty panels...nothing lightweight that would bend easily if they were bumped into. I found some but the cost was so prohibitive! Finally, I found a company, Chubby Baird Gates, that makes and sells the heavy duty round pen panels for much much cheaper. The panels are not fancy, but they are completely functional. And we actually got them cheaper than listed on their website because the dealer we went through gave us a bit of a deal. My husband was actually so impressed with them, that they purchased a ton more this year to use with their cattle.

And I've called a couple places about getting fill in for footing. The limestone gravel screenings will pack too hard, and crushed granite is just too cost prohibitive, especially since we aren't even sure how well it will work, so we've decided to use sand for now. If the sand is too cushy, we will find something to add to it to firm it up.

Round pens

2011-08-15T08:55:00.000-07:00

We are finally getting to preparing a site to set up the round pen that we bought 1.5 years ago. We are just busy and it wasn't high on the priority list until recently. I'll post pictures later of our work. Right now, the base grade is done and the surrounding dirt leveled off and smoothed. Now, I need to get the fill in. I can't decide what I want to use for fill, so I thought I'd throw it out there and ask what others have used in their arenas/roundpens. The previous round pen that I used when I lived in Idaho had basalt gravel screenings (very small diameter gravel). I loved that base because it had give and cushion, but also a lot of support without being hard, and it wasn't as cushy as sand. I think that sand can be a little hard on their tendons if it is deep sand. But I don't have access to basalt gravel screenings and the gravel that we have here (limestone gravel) will most likely shed dust as it is used and eventually pack firm (much like the gravel roads around here do). So I've entertained the thought of mixing limestone gravel screenings and pea gravel (which will not pack)...or perhaps looking into granite gravel. I'm concerned about cost, of course, but I also don't want to have to redo the footing. Sand would be free (we can get it from our neighbor's sand pit if we haul it ourselves), but I'm concerned about it being too soft and too much stress on tendons. We plan to put 6 inches deep...probably if it wasn't so deep it wouldn't be as cushy. I just don't want my horses to be bogged down when I work with them. My neighbor has sand in his round pen and it is not too cushy, but I think it also isn't super deep. I don't know. Coming up with the right footing is stressful though!

Cantering

2011-08-12T10:00:00.000-07:00

I had a great ride with my neighbor on Thursday. He wanted to work on faster gaits, especially cantering, with Belle. I rode Cody with her curb bit. We took a nice trail that a variety of terrains. The first part is a wide grassy trail through the shady woods lined with blackberries. Other parts are open freshy mowed hay fields. And still other parts are rougher trails up and down a big hill on the property where we rode. It is a pleasant area. It was also the perfect temperature. It has cooled off a bit here and I think the high was only around 80 and the humidity was not too bad. And on top of it all, we did a lot of trotting (his horse gaited, of course), and cantering. And it was just a great, fluid riding relationship...we just rode and whenever one wanted to go faster or slow down, we did...no asking and making sure it was okay...we just did it. Both of us like to train and make sure our horses respond to their rider, not the other horse's actions, so it was great practice for them. And both of our horses were well behaved on our ride. It really was so much fun. I wish I had taken pictures. I never take my camera along when I ride, but I should...I only have this one picture of her in the pasture from that day I rode her.

Another great thing was that I discovered that the new saddle I was trialing fits Cody pretty well. It is a Circle Y Omaha. I love how comfortable it is to ride in, so I was really hoping it would fit Cody and/or Chico. My husband and my dad both sat in it and it fits them well too, which was my main goal in getting another saddle.

I rode Chico in it last week, and he seemed reluctant to canter, even half-heartedly putting on the brakes and giving a little buck at one point. I'm not sure if it was the saddle or if it was just the day. Or maybe he was stiff from a previous ride. I do think that he is a little stiff from old injuries he's had and I think he needs some conditioning to evenly build muscle.

He sure does look nice in it though! It looks black here, but it is actually dark oil.

After that ride, I checked the saddle's sweat pattern and it has left a dry spot on the left side of his wither, but not the right side.

I also used a different saddle pad than usual, so I'm not ruling out that the saddle won't work for him yet. I think he needs a little conditioning, and a different saddle pad, then we'll see. But it does fit Cody! So now I have a saddle that will fit each fat horse, so I can have others ride my horses with me!

Burdocks

2011-08-11T20:53:00.001-07:00

I hate burdocks. Not only do they get huge and shade out other vegetation, but they also create terrible knotty messes in my horses' manes and tails. I have a ton of burdocks coming up in my main pasture area and we haven't had time to get out and do anything about it.

Finally, a few days ago, I decided it needed to be a priority before any more got stuck in their forelocks. So I went out with my long handled pruning sheers and started cutting each stalk off...one by one...

And of course, I have Wren along with me. She sat in the stroller for a while, but then got bored so I had to let her out. She looks like she might be as intimidated by the burdocks as I am!

But she jumped right in and started helping her mom.

She was hilarious...she just crawled up and down the horse trails, never straying from them because the weeds and grass were too tall and tickly. Luckily there wasn't any fresh horse poo on the trails. There was only a few dried up apples, but she ignored them and kept on crawling.

Then I saw two of my nephews on their way to play in the woods and I offered them money to help me pile up the burdocks as I cut them. They were a great help. Then my dad called and said he'd be down with his trailer and weedeater with saw attachment.

Meanwhile, Wren kept crawling up and down the trails while my mom watched her as I continued working.

It turned into a rather fun little party and the end result was the removal of every burdock plant from my pasture! Well, only the ones that had the seed stalks on them. It doesn't do any good to cut the leafy ones because they don't seed out until the following year.

This trailer full of burdocks was only half of what we removed from the pasture...this is a lot of biomass! We also climbed on top and used our weight to pack them down so we could fit more onto it!

Saddles

2011-08-04T06:55:00.000-07:00

My trail ride last week, where I rode bareback and my dad rode in my only saddle that fits my fat horses, set me to wanting a new saddle. So I've been doing some looking, and HOLY COW! New saddles are expensive! I was hoping I could find something really nice used in order to not spend as much, but so far I have not been having much luck. So, I started wondering how many people out there actually buy brand new saddles of the good brands...you know, the really pricey ones!

I actually bought a new pricey saddle several years back. And I love it. It was my very first saddle purchase ever. My previous saddle was one that we'd had since I was a kid and it didn't fit Cody correctly so I decided to get a new one that would. However, now it doesn't fit my fat horses. It fit them the summer I bought it, when Cody was only 4 and Chico was 3, but the next year, it was giving Cody dry spots on her withers. I can't remember when it started not working for Chico...that might have not been until after I moved to WI and he really filled out (got fat). It does fit Catlow, and when I get to that point, it should fit Griffin and Kachina.

It is a Circle Y Flagstaff. It is so comfortable. I love the deep seat and the soft fenders that don't pull at your knees. It felt like it was made for me the day I bought it. I just wish it was made for my horses!

When I discovered that my Circle Y didn't fit my fat horses anymore, but I couldn't afford to buy another new saddle, I really spent a lot of time on ebay searching the used saddles. I finally found one I liked and I am so glad I bought it.

It is an old Simco (made in 1964!) and when I bought it, it needed some work, but I gotta say it was worth every penny! I paid about $175 for it, and then spent about the same amount getting the underside refleeced and getting a few rings added to it. It is a quality saddle. The leather is thick and sturdy and all I did was give it a good saddle soaping and oiled it up really well to get it to look this gorgeous. I love old saddles, especially when you can make them look new.

The only real damage that it had that I'm still working on (beside the patchy fleece) is that it looks like the rear of the saddle had been pushed up against the rack or a wall for a long time. The rear skirt is a little buckled and bent up, but it is not broken and oiling it and storing it properly has really done a lot for it. I don't think anyone would notice it unless I pointed it out. In this picture you can also see that I had the saddlemaker add a D-ring in the rear to attach a breeching to for riding in the mountains.

I also had him add a D-ring here for my breastcollar to attach to (the other spot it is supposed to attach is kinda weak).

It really does look brand new with the new fleece underneath.

And I wanted to mention that all my cinches are Weaver SmartCinches. I love the roly buckles. It makes it so easy to tighten up the girth without using much strength. And all my cinches have the padding around the buckle too. I don't like any of the metal parts against their skin, especially in the girth area.

Herd watching

2011-08-02T06:15:00.000-07:00

Wren and I were playing on the deck the other evening, when we noticed that the horses were bathed in the most beautiful light.

The sun was low in the sky and cast a reddish glow over everything. I had to get out my camera and take a few pictures. This is the herd without the polarizer on my lens.

And this is the herd with the polarizer. The polarizer removes the reflected light, so all that remains is the beautiful reddish cast.

I took a few pictures from up on the deck at first.

Chico and Catlow.

I tried to switch to my long lens so I could get closer, but then I had to wait about 10 minutes for the lens to unfog (yes, it's that warm and humid here that glasses and lens that have been in an airconditioned house fog up upon going outside!). Still, I was impatient and snapped a few pics anyway. It gave the pictures a cool effect, like the horses were shaded in fog.

Chico and Griffin.

Eventually it cleared up. This is Chico and Pumpkin.

I headed down along the fence to get closer to the herd. Kachina shows off her gentle eye. With flies of course. There are a lot of flies bothering the horses, but they haven't been too bad. The first summer I had them here, my original three had very red-rimmed irritated eyes and I had to purchase fly masks. They haven't been bothered to that extent since though, thankfully.

Chico's brand.

Griffin's leg barring.

Chico and Cody grazing head to head, like usual. They are lovers.

Chico scratching an embarrassing itch.

It's a good think the tail swat conveniently got in the way of the lens and preserved his modesty.

Wren was a pretty good sport while I went to take some pictures. She just watched me from her prison on the deck. I have a baby gate to keep her from falling down the steps.

Trail ride success

2011-07-30T20:34:00.000-07:00

Last Tuesday I rode Chico and met up with my neighbor, B, riding one of his Tennessee walker mares, named Belle. We went on a pretty long ride (about 2.5 hours) on the trails around our area. I have permission to ride on a couple different properties, so we were able to stay on trails most of the time. Our horses were pretty well behaved. Chico was pretty interested in the mare, but he wasn't aggressive and he listened to my cues whenever I asked him to back away or turn away from her. The mare was pretty nervous, but she settled down alright. My neighbor trains his own horses and he has 7, so they haven't been able to get them all out on a lot of trail rides. They've been out, just not with other horses, and very seldomly on the road. We did ride on the road for a bit and the mare was pretty leary of vehicles. I've been riding Chico most of the time when I go out because my dad expressed interest in riding him along with me. I wanted to make sure Chico was behaving himself alright before I let anyone else ride him. No one else has EVER ridden Chico besides me. I'm not sure why...I guess because he's always been very sensitive (responding really easily to cues) and sometimes he's got a mind of his own. He's also really quick, and he rarely spooks, but when he does, he can spin and take a few strides before you have a chance to react and pull him up. And I guess he is my baby, so I always rode him. But really, Chico is very steady. He listens well. Usually I just have to talk to him to get him to change gaits when we ride. He remembers his voice cues really well from when I started him. But he also knows what squeezing legs mean. And he's not a naughty horse. I also knew my dad really likes him. When I moved the horses to WI back in fall 2008, I went back to ID to finish work before I moved in the spring. My dad took care of my horses for me and he took Chico out a couple times to mess with him. He got him to climb on top of a round bale, and he rode him bareback with just a halter. He also led him inside our rustic cabin in the woods. And Chico did everything he asked. So, I've been riding him just to make sure he's ready for another rider.

Today, we went on our trail ride. It would have been nice for just my dad and I to ride together with just my horses first so that him and Chico could get along without distractions, but I had already mentioned to my neighbors, B and his wife, J, that I wanted to ride, so there were four of us! I was so nervous. I actually had butterflies in my stomach and my hands were shaky. I just was so worried that something might go wrong and I really did not want my dad to get hurt. He grew up riding, but hasn't ridden much at all in the last 20 years. My dad and I used to ride together when I was a kid, but it was so different then. This was my horse, that I trained...my horse that came from the wild. Did I mention that I trained him? Does it seem like maybe I lack confidence in the job I did? Well, only a little! When I ride him, I am perfectly comfortable. I was just so worried that my dad and him wouldn't speak the same language. My dad knows how Chico works, steers and all that...I just couldn't let go of my apprehension...for no reason really. Chico was wonderful. Look how good he stood for my dad while I was mounting up and getting ready to go. I rode bareback because I only have one saddle that fits both Chico and Cody.

I didn't take any pics on our ride because I didn't bring the camera along. I should have. We met B and J down at the pond on my dad's property. J rode Belle, and B rode Honey Doll. Cody was a little nervous about the new horses at first, but Chico could have cared less. Our ride was very nice. My dad kept scaring me by trotting Chico. He cantered him a couple times. Then he wanted to canter him through an open field....Ahhhhh! I was so nervous! I almost didn't want to watch, but they did fine! Honestly, I should have been more worried about the horse I was riding. I rode Cody and I used her old snaffle bit (I figured I felt more comfortable maneuvering her in it if she was funny about the new horses we rode with). She was so heavy with the snaffle! She's not usually that bad. I think she was a little worried about the other horses, even though she had relaxed quite a bit, that she was more concerned with where Chico was going than with my cues. She just lugged on the bit when I asked her to stop or slow down when Chico was in front of her and the new horses were behind her.

When we got back from our ride, we all rode through the pond and the horses thoroughly soaked themselves. Cody tried to lay down and roll with me on her, but I kept her up. She did manage to fill my boots with water though!

All in all, it really was a great ride, and I really gained a lot of confidence in my dad's ability to handle Chico. Even though I really didn't want him to go fast on him...I just wanted everyone to be safe! It's amazing how much more I worry now than I did when I was a kid, and it is all because of how much more experience I have now. I've seen wrecks with horses, I've been in a few, and I've learned to be very careful and always take things in steps. So my ideal first step would have been a successful ride of everyone just WALKING the whole way. But, we skipped a bunch of steps and went straight to the cantering and everything was fine! I should have more faith in my horse and my dad.

My dad had a good time, and he couldn't stop saying good things about Chico. He is familiar with mustangs - his aunt and uncle adopted and trained a few. But this is the first horse his daughter trained! I think maybe he's a little impressed with both Chico and I. I think I need to have a little more confidence in my abilities...or maybe the problem is just that I think too much when I'm at home and not around my horses. Since I've taken my break from riding while pregnant, I have a lot more apprehension...but only when I'm at home thinking about riding. I can't help thinking about all the things that could go wrong. Once I actually get out and get my horse out, all that goes away. I just need to quiet my mind about it at home.

Wren was glad to have her mama back. My mom watched her while my dad and I rode.

The horses were quite tired when we got back. It was warm out and they are out of shape. I decided to set Wren up in Chico's saddle and see what she thought.

This picture pretty much sums up what she thought. She was very very unsure about it. It was so high up, and mama was below her, and even though mama was holding onto her, she felt uncertain.

I tried to get her to slap the saddle horn or at least grab it. She did relax a little bit and look at it, but she was frozen up there, so I took her off.

But she readily reached out and touched their noses when she got back in my arms. I love this picture of Chico's one ear watching her.

I've thought a bit about Wren liking horses or not...and I really wouldn't be upset or offended if she has no interest in horses. At least I won't have to worry about her with them then! Probably she will like them though. She likes all our animals...dogs, cats, horses, cows, chickens, turkeys....

Bits and Bridles

2011-07-27T08:45:00.000-07:00

A while back, Linda at Beautiful Mustang, posted about the contents of her tack room. I filed her idea away thinking it'd be a fun post for a rainy day. Well, guess what. It's raining today! I'm not going to post about all the contents of my tackroom today, just about my bits and bridles.

I love horse tack. A few years ago, when horses were my main focus in life (aside from my schooling), I spent a lot of time acquiring, trying, then rehoming horse equipment (saddles, bits, headstalls...). I was finding what I like and getting rid of stuff that didn't work for me. Ebay was a treasure trove of used items and I perused it regularily, and also sold stuff on it. Now I don't have time to do that anymore, although I still like browsing the tack area of farm stores. Thankfully, I've pretty much narrowed down the items in my tack room to things I truly like.

So, my favorite bridles all have browbands and throatlatches. They look balanced (as compared to a one-ear headstall) and they just seem more stable. If you are riding a rugged trail, I think you'd like a tough well-attached headstall that can't be pulled off if something happened to take you through thick brush (and yes, I've gone many a places I'm glad I had well-attached tack). But mostly, I like the way they look. I don't like flashy bridles with a lot of bling, but a little decoration is okay. My favorite bridle has a buckstitch browband headstall made by Martin Saddlery. I lusted for it for quite a while and then ended up getting it as a graduation gift.

Most of my bridles have rope reins. I love rope reins. They are thick, easy to hold onto, and if you drop them, they fall on the horse's neck instead of on the ground, like split reins do. One bridle I own does have split reins (Cody's new bridle), and I am still getting used to them after riding in rope reins for years. My rope reins are attached to the bit using slobber straps. They are a neat looking attachment, but they can be bulky at times. My horses are fine with them, although I have experimented with cutting my own out of leather and making them less bulky. That was quite a while ago, and I remember being pleased with the results, but I ended up giving them away to a friend rather than keeping them in my tack room. Last I heard, she uses them, but I'll have to find out if she does still.

I have very few types of bits compared to some tackrooms I've seen. At one point, I only owned two types, having gotten rid of all the others that I don't like, however I have recently acquired a couple new ones.

First off, I started using a full cheek snaffle bit on Cody as a 3 year old.

I chose the full cheek snaffle for the jointed mouthpeice (supposedly gentle) and the full cheek peices that would help with teaching a young horse to steer. It worked fine and I had success with it on Cody. When I started preparing Chico, my first mustang and first horse I trained solely myself, I struggled with whether or not to use a bit. I'd been doing lots of reading and came to the conclusion that snaffle bits really aren't so gentle. Sure, you don't have any added leverage, but if you pull back on the reins, the bit breaks in half like a nut-cracker, poking into the horse's palate and pinching the tongue. So, with Chico, I really considered going bitless. I taught him everything with a halter. But my first time with riding him off the property, I took him to the neighbor's indoor arena as a new controlled area. He did fine, but he was definitely distracted and I found myself having to use more strength on the halter to get him to respond. Plus a halter can slide back on their face a bit, so you are pulling farther away from the end of their nose, which is where all your leverage is. I know that if you intend to ride bitless, you have to really condition a horse to respond to the cues, and that using a bit is no substitute for training. I mentioned to the neighbor how I was struggling with deciding to use a bit or not. Being an endurance rider/trainer/breeder, she told me that she always uses a bit on her young horses because she likes the finer communication you get with a bit. And she showed me the bit she used on her young horses. It was a very wide-barred double jointed loose ring snaffle. I thought about it for a while and decided to get one. I tried a couple types and settled on a D-ring double jointed snaffle with a very round smooth centerpeice. The bit that I have is JP Korsteel Hunter Dee - Copper Oval Link (in case you want to look it up).

I like the wide D rings to help with turning cues and also to prevent the bit from sliding through a horse's mouth in a sticky situation. The smooth center-peice and joints don't gouge a horse's palate and it can't pinch the tongue. This bit is also contoured to fit right in the horse's mouth so they can comfortably hold the bit.

It can apparently give more tongue pressure than some other bits, but it's also thought that a nervous horse can be settled by the extra tongue pressure (not sure if that is true, but I've never had any restistance to the bit). I used this bit on all three of my horses, but now Cody has graduated to a new bit. Chico has a slightly narrower mouth than Cody and Catlow, so he had his own bridle, while Cody and Catlow used to share another bridle.

Last summer, Cody went to training and my primary goal was to keep her being ridden, and also have someone work exclusively on teaching her to neck-rein. The trainer said that at her age (7 year old), she should know how to ride in a shanked bit. She said it is just the next step in training. Showing horses, I'm sure that's true, although I don't necessarily believe that a horse needs to ever leave a snaffle if you are getting what you want out of it.

So, Cody was trained to use a Tom Thumb type bit, a broken mouth-peice with shanks. I purchased a simple one last fall to use with her after she came back from training. She also got her own bridle with split reins.

I was still concerned with the broken mouth-peice though. I feel like it is kind of harsh, and I've also read a bit about how a broken mouth-peice with shanks can give a horse conflicting pressure signals on their mouth. The misbehavior of many horses can apparently be attributed to confusion from this type of bit. It makes sense to me. So I started looking for a solid-mouth curb bit. I was looking for a specific shape, because I don't want a curb bit that will push too hard on the horse's palate when the reins are pulled. This is what I've found so far.

I like the mouth-peice shape, but I don't like how long the shanks are. I'd prefer them be shorter because I don't need that much leverage. I'll keep looking for another bit, but our local stores don't have a ton of variety and I don't spend much time shopping online anymore.

And you may have noticed that most of my bits have copper on them. That is not necessarily on purpose, it just seems like a lot of the nicer bits have copper. Copper is used in bits to encourage a horse to salivate, which is supposed to make them work their mouth and keep it soft, ultimately relaxing them and making them more responsive. A horse that is uptight, or withdrawn will often have tight, clamped together lips. A thinking, responding horse licks and chews. I don't believe in using an artificial tool to make a horse relax and think. I think that comes with your training methods and being a responsive rider. So, I don't think that the copper is necessary and in fact might even be uncomfortable. Have you ever tasted the copper? It's kinda sour...no wonder they salivate with a copper bit. I'm not sure that's a good thing. But then again, I'm no expert. I'm just a person who thinks and often overanalyzes stuff, but if it doesn't make sense to me, then I won't believe it works, and then it doesn't work for me.

So, there. These are my bridles in my tack room!

Colors galore

2011-07-25T21:10:00.000-07:00

I visited with the horses for a bit today. Pumpkin and Chico followed me asking for fly spray, but I couldn't because I was holding Wren. I'd just sprayed them down yesterday, but the repellancy does not last 14 days like the bottle claims.

A while back I posted about noticing that Pumpkin had a very poor hair coat and took forever to shed out last summer, which was her first summer with us. Over the winter, her coat was lush and dark. I said we'd see how long it took to shed out this spring. Well, I learned something between then and now...donkeys shed out much much later than horses, and mules (because they are a cross between donkey and a horse) also shed out later than horses. So, this spring, long after the horses had unveiled their bright summer coats, Pumpkin was still shaggy. But, her shaggy coat was not quite as dull and rough as it was last summer. And now that she's all sleek and shiny, she has dapples galore! The dapples are new! I've been told that dapples on horses that are capable of getting them (usually the sooty colors) is a sign of good health and nutrition.

Click on the picture to view it large to get a good look at her dapples.

I have been calling Pumpkin a chestnut mule, but on closer inspection, her mane and tail are faded out, while her legs show a darker brown color. I think she might actually have the silver dapples gene. The silver dapples gene dilutes black, so that would make Pumkin a bay with the silver dapples gene (mane and legs diluted). It's a color gene that is common in some pony breeds, and Pumpkin definitely resulted from a cross with a pony given her size. Regardless, she is quite beautiful.

And another color question. Has anyone else seen these white spots pop up on their horses? Kachina has a few white flecks on her face, her neck, her sides and her hip...pretty much all over her whole body. They are small, and not very noticeable. The ones on her neck are the largest. She seems to have a few more this year than last year. What could they be from? Are they from injuries? Insect bites? Ringworm? She hasn't had ringworm since I've had her, but I'm pretty sure she had it while with the BLM - when we adopted her 2 years ago, it looks like she has healed ringworm spots - the hair was shorter in some circular areas on her body. But of course, I don't remember if these were the areas. The scuffs are bite marks from either Chico or Griffin (don't feel sorry for her - she generally asks for it).

Maybe she's an appaloosa?!

Got to ride again!

2011-07-25T07:26:00.000-07:00

I got to ride again this weekend. This time I took Cody out. I was tempted to ride her in her old bridle (double-jointed snaffle) just because I felt like if she was nervous or herd-bound like she was back in early spring when I last rode her, then I'd be able to control her a little better, but I ultimately decided to stop babying her and just ride her in her new bridle with the curb bit. The curb bit has some long shanks which give a lot of leverage when pulling back on the reins, but I don't feel like it gives me better control. It certainly makes her respond quickly if I happen to pull back firmly, but I think it also gets her a little uptight...and my way of dealing with unexpected spooks and misbehavior is to pull her head to the side (direct rein-style), and that can be awkward with a curb bit.

But, I used it. She was a little rusty with it, added to concerned about why we were heading away from home (she's always been like this when ridden alone - you have to keep her mind very busy when going away from home, other-wise you are constantly nit-picking to keep her forward and from looking back toward home). But she wasn't nervous like she was back in early spring when the snow crunching and wind rattling through brown oak leaves still holding tight to dormant branches just set her on edge. But, because she was too busy looking back, it was difficult to get her to respond appropriately to neck-reining - she took some reminders about it, and some firmness. About halfway through our ride, she sort of relaxed about being out alone and we were far enough away from home that she wasn't gawking to see if she could look back home and then she became very responsive. All in all, she was pretty good on our ride, although I'd expect an 8 year old mare whose been ridden since she was 3 and just last summer had 2 months of professional training to be a little better. Normally, I'd give her more slack since she has had quite a bit of time off from riding, but my 7 year old mustang whose had 2 years off from riding was way better than she was on his first time back on the trail! But, they are two very different horses. Chico has always been ready to go out, alone even, and he likes to explore. Cody would rather be home lounging with her buddies. When we ride out with more than one horse (usually I pony one along), my horses are much better. Cody then isn't looking back concerned with leaving the others. The only exception is when I am out with both of my mares who are both a little herd-bound. Then, occasionally, instead of boosting confidence in eachother, sometimes they'll feed off eachother and both be concerned with home and then I don't have such a relaxing ride. That's only happened a couple of times though. Usually they are doubly good riding out together.

The ride I went on this weekend was about an hour an a half long. I went in the morning, but even so, it was pretty hot and humid. I didn't push Cody too hard because of that, we only trotted a couple of times for very short distances. Despite our gentle ride, Cody was still soaked with sweat by the time we got back. Horses just don't dry when they sweat when it is that humid (sometimes I really miss riding in Idaho). She enjoyed being rinsed off with the hose when we got back.

I'm hoping to go out for a ride with my neighbors tomorrow. They have Tennesee walking horses. It should be an interesting ride.

Fence buster

2011-07-13T22:34:00.000-07:00

I love this horse, but sometimes she can make me so mad! Catlow is quiet and cautious, but she is also the one that tests the fences. The burdocks have grown up into the electic fence and so it wasn't very powerful. Of course it didn't take Catlow long to figure this out and crawl through the fence again. She doesn't go anywhere - just grazes the lush grass just outside the fence and walks through my grandma's garden once in a while, but she doesn't really want to get caught, so I have to persistently follow her around and cut her off from where she wants to go. And of course, she bags out the fence, so we had to fix it AGAIN!

Needless to say, we cut the burdocks down today using a saw attachment for the weedeater. It worked awesome. I was so impressed with my wild horses for how they handled the noisy saw. Kachina especially was right on our heels investigating the cut foliage and as I pulled it out of the fenceline and tossed it behind me at her feet, she didn't flinch or shy at all! She's really calmed down a lot since we got her.

And hasn't she filled out? You should go back to this post if you want to see what she looked like when we first got her. Of course, she is still a small petite horse, but she is a great weight. And I daresay she has grown a bit. She's 5 years old this year.

Kachina's dorsal stripe is thin and light brown, compared to Griffin's whose stripe is thick and black (not pictured).

I really do love my horse. Today I rode Chico again and this time we went to a new area I've never ridden on before. We walked, trotted and cantered and aside from being out of shape, he was great. And he loved walking along the field of oats and snatching mouthfuls as we went.

It sure is nice to ride a horse that is not herd bound. It makes a ride very enjoyable when the horse's mind is forward with your's instead of back home (always wanting to turn around and speeding up when aimed toward home).

In this picture you can see the scar on his hindleg where he was cut all those years ago. You can see the old cut here in this post, and this post, and this post. And then this post shows it starting to actually heal up.

Curious ponies

2011-07-12T09:46:00.000-07:00

We had to fix fence yesterday and all the horses had to come over to investigate. Catlow leads the pack. She always leads the horses from place to place, to water, to salt, to graze, to the barn.

Kachina was the most inquisitive of all. She watched my husband closely as he messed with the wires.

This is Chico this summer. He is glossy and lovely, but a little overweight. I tried a grazing muzzle on him earlier in the year, but within 3 days, he figured out how to rub it off and now I can't keep it on him. He rubs it off his nose and then it dangles around his neck like a necklace as he grazes to his heart's content. I'm sure if I start riding him, he'll slim down. He didn't get fat until he had a whole summer off from riding.

Summer ponies

2011-07-11T20:56:00.000-07:00

I realized I haven't posted any horse pictures lately so here are a few from last week of the horses grazing in the pasture. This is my view from the deck. I love my view. And yes, summer did finally come to Wisconsin. It was only about a month late.

Sore

2011-07-09T11:27:00.000-07:00

I can't believe how much my bottom hurts after the short little ride I did yesterday! My legs don't hurt, but my poor seat bones must have lost their riding calluses!

I love my horse

2011-07-08T20:57:00.000-07:00

I haven't ridden my horses much the last couple years. I rode Cody once last fall and once this spring, and none of the others for almost 2 years! And I haven't done anything with them other than trim hooves and vaccinate/worm. So, when I pulled Chico out of the pasture today with the intent to work with him and see how rusty he was after almost 2 years off, I didn't have high expectations. But boy was I surprised! Chico was calm, accepted saddling without batting an eye, and lunged paying close attention to my cues. I couldn't quite believe he was so good, so still taking it slow, I decided to lead him through the woods first and work with him a bit away from the others to make sure this wasn't a side effect of being at home. He was awesome on our walk through the woods, following me respectfully. A couple times, he stopped to look at something he heard (squirrels) but otherwise, he showed no real concern for the fact that we had left the herd behind. We ended up at my neighbor's and visited for a bit, while Chico waited patiently and grazed part of their lawn. Then, while still talking to them, I got him ready to ride (tightened the cinch, slapped the stirrups, bridled him, flexed him to the bit - all of which he accepted readily). Then I climbed on, made him wait a bit more while we finished visiting, then took off on a ride. I didn't make it a long ride, since it was already almost noon and a hot day, but we did ride for a bit, then headed home. He was so good, I didn't see any need to drill a long ride into him. Really, he rode like he had been ridden every day the last 2 years instead of having that whole time off. In fact, I think he may have even mellowed with age over those two years. He's 7 now, and he had been ridden extensively his 3, 4, and 5 year old years. I was really just so pleased with my horse. I can't believe it took me this long to just go out and climb on him. I guess I was avoiding him after his long break because I didn't know what to expect from him after giving him such a long break (having never done it before), but all that did was make his break even longer. Although it doesn't matter. I'm so pleased to have a horse that I can let stand and still go out and ride him whenever. That will be very important over the next several years!

Busy June

2011-07-02T07:46:00.000-07:00

It has been an extremely busy month around here!

First, I finished up the parasitology course I was taking from home (but travelling to school to take exams). I was taking this course to fulfill a course I needed but would miss when I return to start 2nd year because they change when the course was offered while I was gone. So, that's done.

Then Todd and I had our wedding reception celebration on our 1 year anniversary! Last year, we were married on June 11th, but I was pregnant and didn't want to plan a big party so I made sure everyone knew we would be celebrating this year. We had a big party/dance at my parent's house in their big shed. We roasted a pig and had tons of food courtesy of friends and family. And almost every person important to me made it there to share the day with us and it was just perfect! We had a great time!

This photo was taken by my talented little sister. She has self-started her own photography business and is doing quite well with it. Check her out at her website.

And I had many friends from Idaho come to visit, including my friend with whom I was fortunate enough to share a pregnancy with! Her baby boy is 3 months younger than Wren, but they got along great and will hopefully become lifelong friends like their parents!

Then the next weekend, we left for a week long vacation with my family (parents, sisters and their husbands/families). It was very fun. We went to South Dakota and visited the Badlands, Mt Rushmore, the Black Hills, and saw lots of cool wildlife, waterfalls, fossils, and just enjoyed our time with family.

Wren is crawling like a monkey now (because she's also climbing and pulling up on stuff!). It makes my life difficult because I'm always ever vigilant about her getting hurt! Gone are those days when I could put her down and she'd still be in the same spot a few minutes later. But really, I love it. She is so fun!

Now, we are busy planting trees and taking care of the farm. We said no gifts at our wedding, but knew that some people would want to anyway, so said if you must, we want fruit trees and native trees to plant in our yard. We got lots of trees and gift certificates to bring home more! So, we've been trying to get our trees in the ground and Wren has of course been a great help!

In addition to that, we involved several friends and family in a "chicken co-op". We asked who was interested in purchasing chickens/turkeys raised humanely and healthily, with the understanding that they have to help with butchering them to take them home. Many people were interested, so this spring, we brought home 125 slow-growing cornish cross chicks and 17 broad-breasted white turkeys. The chickens and turkeys are growing like weeds and eat a LOT of feed every day. Butchering day is August 6th, just about a month more to go! The brown tom in this picture is from our turkeys last year...he is not to be included in the butchering day, but he does a great job watching over the young meat birds (who are now heavier than he is!)

Sassy has a new home!

2011-05-30T21:05:00.000-07:00

And amazingly, it was not any of my advertisements that found her a new home. My nephew was also putting the word out and we are very happy with the people who decided to take her. We know the family fairly well. They live just a couple miles down the road from us and they raise beef and have a few donkeys and llamas. They often borrow our cattle chute to work their cattle. Well, they have decided to get back into horses and have purchased a big appaloosa. They want a second horse so mom and daughter can ride together and they really like Sassy. They know she is young and green, and so they are planning to send her to a trainer for a tune-up in a few weeks. They just took her home today. I am very happy. I think it sounds like a great home for her. I am so glad she is getting some further training before they go ahead and start riding her. And the very best part is that they live right along the highway, so we will be able to see her out in their pasture when ever we head into town! And you know, if they are that close, perhaps I can hook up with them for a trail ride someday in the future too.

Now, I can get back to focusing on my horses and not feel like I need to be working with Sassy in case I get anyone out to look at her. It's over and done with! And I hope I never need to see another horse ever again!

internet dangers

2011-05-19T20:30:00.001-07:00

It is a dangerous world out there and then add the anonymous and ubiquitous nature of the internet to that. I hope to be able to teach my child about the dangers of the internet so that they can view each and every interaction with suspicion and not invest much in them. It's sad that we have to do that, but we must in order keep ourselves safe or to avoid getting scammed.

I've had several people contact me about Sassy via the ad I placed on dreamhorse. Most of them ask a few questions, but never respond after I answer them. One sounds interested and we emailed quite a bit, but she has to sell her horse first. And then 3 of the 9 total responses I've gotten have been from scammers! Of course, I figured that out by their response to my response email, and then by their complete lack of response when I asked them for more info and stated that I would not make this sort of transaction solely over the internet and that they must answer my questions and contact me by phone. I just logged into dreamhorse today to see if there is a way to report such scammers and lo and behold, they actually flagged the three messages for me saying that they had other people report them as potential scammers. That's really good of dreamhorse to do that and try to protect their users. It just floors me that there are scammers that try to specialize in the horse for sale world. I guess they are everywhere though...where there is a niche, there will be a scammer. And these scammers have horrible grammar - I'm guessing that they are foreign. These scammers are easy to pick out. It'd be scary to try to deal with a scammer that actually does a better job at hiding it. What are the essential tips to pick out a scammer? There are many, but the most important thing is to never complete a transaction like this solely over the internet. While yes you can get scammed by someone you meet face to face, it is so much less likely and hopefully you can pick that person out as dishonest. Over the internet is difficult though.

Here is the latest scammer and my responses to them:

Initial contact email from scammer:

Hello Am good about this horse and i will like to buy it for my hubby, we have two horse which we love so much,i will like this horse to frolic with the other horses. I want to know its condition 2. Reason for selling 3.....what is the final asking price . and hit me up with more photographs if possible

My response:

Sassy is in good pasture condition - she's not fit, but she lives in a large pasture with other horses that keep her very active, so I'd say she's ready to trail ride, but would need further conditioning for other disciplines. You can see from the photo that she's got good weight on her.

Sassy is being sold because she is green and I don't have time to work with her. She was my nephew's horse, but he lost interest in her when he bought a motorcycle. He only rode her once after buying her from a friend (who did all the training on her) who was heading to college.

I have not decided on Sassy's final asking price. I don't want to drop much below $750 because she is a very nice horse who someone put a lot of work into and she needs to go someplace where she will be used. But she needs more work - she is green. I can be negotiable, to the right home, but I'm not bargaining with price until I actually get a person out to see her.

Where do you live? What is your husband's riding experience (because Sassy needs more work - either further training with a professional, or an experienced rider). Do you have a trainer in mind that you'd send her to?

Scammer's response (directly cut and paste so grammar and punctuation is the same)

Thanks so much for the prompt response to my mail,The price is okay by me,I
really wish to be there to check it but i am not chanced due to My job,Payment
will be via certified cashiers check,I will also wait for it to get cleared
before our family vet come for pick up ,I believe what I am buying from you is in
good condition so I want to secure the purchase to avoid loosing it,Concerning
the pick up, our shipper would be at your place to check on the present
condition of it and he will also take care of the transportation, for the pick
up after you have received and confirmed payment .please do provide me with the
below information to facilitate mailing the payment to you so as to have this
transaction completed ASAP
Your name and address your phone Number

And my final response:

Your email response sounds like a scammer (because you do not address the object for sale (horse)). I would appreciate a response to the questions that I asked in the previous email in order to show me that you are seriously interested in the horse and also that you have the horse's best interests in mind. Also, I do not make such important transactions solely via email. I will need you to call me on the phone so that we can discuss this. Please call me at ***-***-****.

I decided it was okay to list my phone number in my response because it is listed as a contact number in my dreamhorse ad, so this person already has access to that, but not my full name or address. And of course, the same precautions apply if I were actually to be contacted by phone about Sassy, although I doubt this scammer speaks good enough English to be able to pull of such a scam over the phone.

More than a month late

2011-05-09T21:56:00.000-07:00

It's amazing how spring really has stalled out here. We are finally getting some warmer weather (highs in the 60s!), so I expect this to change fast! Just look at how the deciduous trees look in these photos! I don't even think they are quite where the header photo is (remember taken on April 3rd last year).

Even so, the grass has decided to not wait for the trees. It greened up a while ago and now with the warmer weather the last couple days, it is getting longer.

I have kept the horses off the pasture for the last month to try to give it a chance to get a head start. Today they got to spend 2 hours out there munching all the green grass they could. And they never picked their heads up until I appeared with a grain bucket to call them in.

And speaking of grain bucket, I found another vice that Sassy has, and I really hate this one and will do my best to break her of it. I never go out with a grain bucket to catch a horse...I use the bucket to call them in. My horses know that they are not allowed to eat from a grain bucket while I am holding it and they maintain a close but respectful distance, even as they all follow me back to the barn where their feed pans are. Some of them beat me there because they know that the pans are the only place they'll be getting grain. Well, Sassy doesn't know this routine yet. When I appeared with a grain bucket and yelled for them, she was the first one into the small pasture, and as I turned around to walk back down to the barn, she almost ran me over in her haste to get to the bucket (and none of the other horses were even remotely close yet). She tried several times as I was walking to try to get into the bucket. Grrr! That is a pet peeve of mine! I hate horses that do that! I chased her away repeatedly, and she did finally get the message, but she followed hot on my heels. And by that time, Cody (lead mare) had caught up and was following me and I was worried that she might get after Sassy and chase her into me. Sassy is the only horse that I worry might run me over if they get into a disagreement. The other horses respect my space too much to do that. One nice thing about a mustang is that because they started with fear of you, jumping on top of you is usually one of the last places they'll go (with exceptions of course). Domestic born horses who grew up with no fear of humans will just as soon run you over to get away from another horse, as they will run you over to get to a grain bucket! The respect can of course be taught to them, but it just seems inherent in a mustang. Sassy will catch on. She's just obviously not been taught those manners.

Another funny thing I see...every time I go through the pasture gate (it clanks as I do it), Pumpkin and Sassy come streaking down to stand at the gate. They are obviously not really a part of the rest of my herd. The others are usually interested in what we do at the gate, but if they are out of sight, they don't come running down to see us. They are a bit more independent.

I finally got through trimming all 7 horses. This last weekend I did both Kachina and Griffin. Griffin's feet seem to grow really fast and they were very long and chipping. Now they are a good length, but are going to require a couple more trims before they are nice and tight due to my slow/weak return to trimming them myself. But, now that they are done, I need to just keep at them and they will stay good the rest of the summer.

After I was finished trimming Griffin's hooves, he was really interested in hanging out with me. I always start a trimming session with grooming, then I toss a rope around his body and legs and slap the ground to test how jumpy he feels. Both him and Kachina were very quiet with all this. And after I was done with Griffin (he was the very last horse), I led him out into the pasture and just messed with him a little. We did some leading with working on Griffin reading my body language and stopping when I stop, backing when I back. Then we did some moving the shoulder over by stepping across in front, and some disengaging the hindquarters. He was really good and interested in what we were doing. When I was done, I took the halter off, and instead of heading out to see where the other horses went, he came down with me to the gate and then nosed around in the corral for a bit. And I've noticed him really watching me today too. I think he likes the attention and the stimulation. I really really want more time to work with him, and Kachina too. She is my sweetheart and just wants to stand and be petted all the time. She always follows me everywhere I go in the pasture.

Vaccination day

2011-05-02T08:22:00.001-07:00

Sunday was vaccination and deworming day at our place. It was quite a feat to do 7 horses! But I had a good helper. My husband held each horse while I did the dirty work. It went pretty flawlessly. Even Griffin and Kachina took to it okay. Catlow and Kachina both threw their heads up when they got the needle poke, but they didn't move their feet. Catlow took the dewormer much better than she usually does (she usually gets quite huffy about it - she hates it). The only downer about the day was it was so COLD and WINDY! The high was only 40 degrees (the average high on May 1st is 67 for these parts). My fingers were so cold. We thought we might go for a walk with a horse, but it wouldn't have been much fun, so we didn't. Plus my husband was going to carry the baby on our walk, but she's caught a nasty bug and it wouldn't have been good for her to be outside on such an awful day. Today is not much better - still winder and cold. You know my header pic and how I said I thought our spring was 2 weeks late? Well, the buds have just totally stalled out the last couple weeks and we are still sitting the same way in the last pics I posted. So, now, spring is about a month late! Blah!

2011-04-30T08:44:00.000-07:00

My neighbor and I worked with Sassy in his arena yesterday. Well, I sat and held the baby while he worked with her! We didn't ride her, just a ton of ground work. She's definitely rusty and could use a little more respect work, but she is absolutely unflappable. She doesn't get worked up if she gets spanked with a whip and she acts like someone just taught her to accept a tarp yesterday. I think her unspookiness is her best asset. Anyway, here are some pictures of her moving yesterday. She is a pretty mare. I hope someone takes a liking to her before I decide I like her too much and don't want to sell her!

2011-04-25T05:35:00.000-07:00

It sounds like most of my blogger friends also has nice weather this weekend! We did too! On Sunday, it was sunny and pretty warm, so in addition to getting together with family for Easter, I was able to plant some irises that I'd had in a bucket all winter, weed my flower beds and get out to the barn to play with horses.

I worked with Sassy because I needed to know how she is going to be if anyone comes to look at her. And I'm happy to report that I have had two people call about her in addition to the 3 "looky-loos" who just texted/emailed about her and never contacted me again. Unfortunately, one person and I had a disagreement about her eye color and whether or not it meant she was going to go blind (she's not going to go blind, there is nothing wrong with her eyes), and the other never called me back after saying she needed to discuss her with her fiance who was the one interested in her. Although that person would have been a very good match for Sassy, as it seems she has a lot of training experience (I looked her up and found an ad featuring an off the track thoroughbred she retrained for barrel racing listed for $20,000 - whether or not she'll get that, who knows, but she sounds like she knows what she is doing).

So, no one has come to look at her, but I think it will happen, so I wanted to check her out myself. The only thing that I've done with her for the last year was have her feet trimmed, and lead her down the road from our cow pastures to my horse pasture. I was pleasantly surprised last fall when we did that because we had to lead her through my husbands shop area with tons of strange equipment and stacks of pipe. She didn't bat an eye at all that strange stuff, where as Pumpkin was very leary and suspicious of it all.

When I went in to get Sassy, she met me at the gate. I haltered her easily, led her out and held her for a second while my other horses freaked out about something and took off for the back pasture. Poor Sassy really wondered where they went and why they were in such a hurry, but she just danced a little and settled down. She was really good as I tied her to the rail and started grooming her. She stood well. I checked her feet and decided they needed a trim. I only did her fronts because I didn't want to spend too much time trimming - I wanted to get to trying to saddle her. She has really nice uncomplicated feet. They are balanced, nicely shaped and easy to trim. I've also never seen her sensitive on gravel, even after I'd just trimmed her this time. She was very good while I trimmed her, although she did test me by trying half-heartedly to take her hoof away a couple times.

Then I saddled her up with my training saddle. I untied her just in case she wasn't good about it. I threw the blanket up on her back expecting her to act like and old broke horse, and she did! I threw the saddle up the same way and she stood perfectly still. No issue with cinching up. She was great.

Then I took her out in the yard and used my training stick with a string attached to touch her all over and see how she took having the string tossed around her legs and over her back. I also slapped it on the ground near her hind feet very hard unexpectedly, and she stood stock still and relaxed for it all.

I asked her to move off and walk around me, she did so calmly and walked. Stepping it up to a trot was no problem. She changed directions with ease, although there were a couple times when she got confused about which direction she was supposed to go when I stepped in front of her, but with consistent asking, she figured it out without a fuss. I had to push her very hard to get a canter out of her, but I did get a few strides in both directions, and asked her to stop before she quit (didn't want to make an issue out of it since the footing was kind of slippery - just grass in the wet yard). I was surprised by how good she was, how much she knew, and how it didn't seem like she'd had a year off at so young.

Then I figured I should see how she took a bridle. Her previous owner said she used a snaffle on her, so I got out Chico's bridle. She didn't want to be bridled and stuck her nose up in the air as I tried to slip the bit in her mouth, but she didn't move her feet at all. I worked at getting her to drop her head for a while then slipped the bit in. She wasn't perfect but I think with very little effort she'll take to bridling easily. Once the bit was in, she stood and mouthed it for a while. I asked her to flex laterally with the bit as I stood at her side, and she did so very lightly on both sides. She flexed very well, and held her head to the side playing with the stirrup on the saddle.

I wasn't planning to ride her because the ground is still pretty soft and I didn't have a safe enclosed space to try her out in, but she was so good with the lunging under saddle even (didn't blink and eye at the saddle), and she was so soft in the mouth, I figured I'd try her out. I tried to flex her head lightly to the inside as I mounted, but I'm not sure she understood that. She did not stand very still for mounting and we circled around a few times before she stood. That would be one fault I found so far. She needs more work to stand still for mounting. Once I was up, she was okay, but seemed like she didn't really know exactly what to do with her guiding force no longer on the ground. She was calm, and moved forward when I squeezed with my legs, and flexed lightly to the bit, but getting good movement out of her while steering was a little shaky. All I did was ride her around the yard and try to get good small circles out of her in either direction, and she was getting better about it and paying more attention to me toward the end before I dismounted. She didn't want to stand still when I asked her to whoa and dismount, but she wasn't that bad...just a little fidgety, but I'm not sure I can blame her too much...I think my other horses would need a reminder about being polite when ridden/handled with all the fresh green grass in the yard.

I really was pleasantly surprised by her. The other problem with her is that she did not stop mouthing at and playing with the bit the whole time I had her bridled. I'm not sure she's very used to wearing a bit. That's the way she acted anyway, even though she did flex nicely to it.

I decided that I wanted to try to get some nicer pictures of her for her sale ad, but my nice saddle was at our house stored in the garage, so I led her down the road away from the other horses and up to our house. She was very well behaved at a time of the year when even the best horse can be a little herd bound! She was a little fidgety and slightly nervous for about a minute once we got up to our house, but she stood well while my husband held her and I changed saddled. Then we got pictures of her in our yard standing and being ridden. She was a little fidgety and chewed at the bit as though she didn't know what to do with it, but other than that, she was great.

I have relisted her with the new photos and increased her price. I think she is worth it. She has got a great temperament, pretty good ground manners, and a LOT of potential for the right person who can put some miles on her. Plus she is just a super cute mare with flashy color. She is definitely green, but my neighbor and I are going to work together to get some additional miles on her in the next couple of weeks. I need help because I have the baby with me, making it hard to do anything myself. But working together, we should be able to get her going. Plus my neighbor has a round pen and arena. We still haven't gotten our round pen set up. Soon though!

Selling horses

2011-04-20T07:39:00.001-07:00

Wow, I really jinxed it when I announced that spring had come. Yesterday and over the night we got 9 inches of snow!!!! And it is still snowing. I went out to take some neat flowers in the snow pictures, but I couldn't find my flowers! Only the tall tulips had parts sticking out.

I dug down a couple inches to find the tulip buds resting snugly waiting for the sun to come out.

Isn't this sign ironic now?

So, I listed Sassy for sale a couple days ago. Selling a horse is the hardest thing ever! I've never done it before. And I'm not even attached to Sassy. I didn't let myself get attached because I knew I didn't have time for her and couldn't keep her. Even so, I still care about her well-being as an animal that deserves a decent life. So, thinking about all the possibilities of where she could end up in this poor horse market makes me shudder. But we can't feed her forever if we aren't going to use her, so she must go. She has unique color and a nice temperament going for her...unfortunately, she doesn't have the training level that will fetch a good price and guarantee her a safe future (if there ever is a safe guarantee for ANY horse once they leave your hands). She is 6 years old. She was started as a 4 year old, worked with a lot, and given about 30 rides. Then her owner got ready to head off to college, so she sold her to my nephew, who is 20 years old. He rode her once, bareback, then got a motorcycle and never looked at her again. She stood out in the pasture the whole summer of her 5 year old year. Now she's 6, and still green. My nephew said that she is not the deadbroke horse that he needs. Of course she isn't...she's only been ridden 30 times, and now she's had more than a year off...so what kind of price do you think I can get for her? Even if she was practically free, is anyone interested in this market?

Well, right after I listed her, I got 3 responses. One via email and then 2 people texted me (texted!!!!). What? I didn't expect that...guess I'm old fashioned! But if you are seriously interested, wouldn't you give me a call instead of text me? Almost every one of those people asked if she bucks or rears...well, she never bucked nor reared during her initial training and 30 rides, and I told them so. I told one person to call me to discuss a possible sale, and she said she would right after she picked her son up from school...did I hear from her? No. The other texter said she would be available to talk on the phone after 3pm. I called her at 4pm and left a message. Did I hear from her? No. The email person never responded to my answer that the horse had never bucked nor reared. I also did a little background research on the two people that contacted me over my phone. I punched their numbers into Google. I found a bunch of listing that they had placed to sell various horse related items and horses. One person listed a well-bred horse, stating that she needed to sell her because the horse needed about 2 more months of training to get her to the teampenning horse that she needed and she did not have the time to do that because she just had a baby. That horse was listed for sale in March of 2011. So, now this person is interested in Sassy who I clearly stated was still very green? Weird. The other person had about 5 horses listed for sale in the last year or two, all between $400 and $1000. I suspect she may be a dealer/trader and be looking to make a buck on Sassy. I feel terrible thinking of where she might end up if she went to this person...but if I'm too picky, I'll never get her sold and I'll have to feed her another winter! What do I do? I really have no actual proof that these people are dishonest or have selfish intentions. And of course, by writing this on my blog, I'm spilling it all out to the world about my suspicions...but I never misrepresented Sassy in her ad, so I'm not worried, and if these people are really interested in her and have good intentions, they will not be offended that I looked them up. And anyway, I'm sure I'll never hear from them. It's easy to inquire about a horse via texting, but not so easy to actually declare that you are truly interested by calling me.

I had wanted to work with Sassy a bit this spring before I listed her for sale and get some really nice pictures of her saddled and being ridden, but alas, the weather has not allowed for that! I wanted to do this in my round pen, but we have not been able to get it set up. The ground is still too wet to work (I want to put a good sand base down), and then there is the little problem of all the snow. Ugh. Has anyone else had this much anxiety over selling a horse that isn't even their own?

Spring, um, wait, not yet?

2011-04-17T19:15:00.001-07:00

I've had a lot of fun taking pictures of the same place in the pasture as my header photo is. It is a neat way to keep track of the arrival of spring, and also the differences in timing from year to year.

And then, it snowed yesterday morning, so I had to capture it.

Saturday morning:

Sunday morning

By Sunday afternoon, the snow was pretty much all gone. Doesn't it look like we may now be at the same place as the header photo? The maples are all budded out. So a difference of April 3rd 2010 to April 17th 2011, that is two weeks later exactly than last year!

Spring is late

2011-04-10T07:35:00.001-07:00

So this picture was taken on April 9th 2011, while the picture in my header was taken April 3rd, 2010. It is the same area of the pasture although not quite the same angle. The trees in the background are the same - budding out in the header picture, but not quite yet in yesterday's picture. See how late our spring is?

But I'm ready! When it finally warms up, I've got the flowers, peppers, and tomatoes started!

Lovely crocus!

2011-04-06T07:02:00.000-07:00

The crocus in my woods is out in full flower! It's so pretty against the brown leaves.

In this little stretch of wood edge I have many crocus, daffodils, and irises planted. Only the one crocus is up so far but there are many more poking through. I just need a few days of warmer weather and sunshine...and penned up chickens!

I love my chickens, but I'm a bit mad at them right now. They won't stay out of my flowerbeds and they've been eating off all the tiny buds coming up! I know I'd have more flowers if they'd quit picking them off. They were also dustbathing and digging big holes in the mulch in one flowerbed so I had to put wire over the top of it. We've been having this problem only because we hadn't finished the chicken yard fence yet. It was mostly up, but one stretch still needed wire. We had to abort construction last fall due to bad weather arriving. And it wasn't an issue in the winter since the chickens were blockaded in the coop to keep them warmer. And even on nice days when I let them out, they didn't venture far in the snow. But now with the snow gone and my delicate spring flowers coming up, I can't have them running loose (although them loose sure decreases the feed bill). Last night we finished the fence. So now I am looking forward to more flowers But I did notice one particularily able hen outside the pen this morning...I think I'll be clipping some wing feathers later!

Spring is here? (tentatively spoken, with fear it may snow again!)

2011-04-02T20:14:00.000-07:00

I am happy to say that the snow we got on Friday has melted off today thanks to 50 degree weather! It took over a week for the previous snow to slowly disappear, but thanks to it finally feeling like spring, this snow disappeared much more quickly! So, sorry, no flowers in the snow pictures! But I took pictures of my spring-y flowers anyway! I hope you enjoy these!

Tulips peaking out!

Daffodils finding their way out of the leaves along the woods.

I planted a bunch of springtime bulbs in this little stretch of woods out in the backyard. It receives a lot of sun in the spring before the trees leaf out, but then not much later. I figure it was perfect for spring bulbs. And I love to see some life and color showing up out there before the trees actually leaf out and things turn green. While the beauty of spring bulbs is fleeting, they come at a time of year when we so desperately seek something alive outside!

Wren waits patiently while I take pictures.

Another of my favorite signs of spring are pussy willows! Their presence is even more fleeting than the spring flowers. I picked a bunch to keep in my house. They dry beautifully and make very pretty decorations.

I almost forgot to mention that I spent most of the wonderful spring afternoon with my horses. I need to get caught up trimming them. I'm trying to get on top of it so I can do them myself like I used to. Unfortunately, I haven't gotten to them all winter, so they are all a little long, but not as bad as I suspected. The only horse I trimmed in the winter was Cody and I only did her front feet because I saw she was developing a crack and I wanted to get rid of it before it got worse (it was only about an inch long at the time and happily, it seems to be gone now).

So, I trimmed Catlow (all four), and Pumpkin (just her fronts). Catlow has THE hardest hooves ever. They are dark grey and super thick. I always have a hard time getting the nippers through her hooves, and since I had a hard time when I did Cody (I was so weak! I'm so out of practice!), I was sort of dreading doing them. However, we just got a new pair of nippers for the farm to use on the beef cows that need to be trimmed (I trim the cow's hooves too). They are compound hoof nippers, not just plain straight nippers. The way the joints are arranged gives added leverage when you squeeze the handles. There is supposed to be 18X more leverage than regular nippers! I figured they would do the trick on Catlow's hooves, and they did work well, however, the joints were so new and stiff that I still had difficulty. Although without them, I probably would not have been able to get through her hooves at all! But they are also thicker and quite a bit heavier so I was getting a workout just maneuvering them into position on the hoof. After the first hoof, I was already tired (I am SO weak) so I had my husband standing nearby to lend a hand and squeeze the handles whenever I became fatigued.

I didn't need his help when I did Pumpkin. Her hooves are so tiny and cute! I've never trimmed hooves that small before, nor mule shaped...they are just different shaped than horses.

It really was nice to spend time with Catlow. I haven't in so long, other than the brief scratch as I walk through the pasture as I do chores. She is such a quiet, honest horse. She would make the best kids horse, because she always does what you ask. She never tries to think up ways to avoid doing something or to try to get her way. She's not mischevious. She really is almost boringly honest. Unfortunately, she is very insecure. She gets very nervous ridden by herself. When ridden with other horses, she is almost perfect. Her only other fault is that she sometimes would rather not be with people and she's not very affectionate. Her affection is very subtle. And training-wise she does need finishing, since I've only been riding her for 2 summers (and then couldn't ride last summer). I don't know how I'll have time to finish her, but it doesn't really matter. She is one of my "heart" horses. She'll always have a home with me.

Never ending winter

2011-04-01T06:45:00.000-07:00

This photo is from this morning. Winter is never ending here!

I can hardly believe that my header photo was taken on April 3rd(only two days from today!) and it does not look like we'll be anywhere close to that this year. The trees are not starting to bud out yet. However, my crocuses and daffodils are poking out! Spring WILL come! We must just be patient.

Well, so much for that.

2011-03-23T11:35:00.000-07:00

We are getting a couple of inches of snow today. And the weather will turn cold for the next week, so I think it will be sticking around for a while. Oh well, at least it covers the mud!

Last weekend, it was gorgeous on Saturday (55!) and I asked my mom to come and watch the little rascal (she jumped at the chance). I skipped away and rode a horse! I played with them out in the pasture for a while. Kachina is an in-your-pocket horse. I haltered her, lead her around and groomed her for some practice. She was awesome. Let me halter her and just wanted to be played with. That's wonderful for a wild horse that's been ignored all winter. Pumpkin also wouldn't leave me alone. Griffin was interested, and approached a few times, but did not let me approach him without moving away. Cody, however, didn't come to visit the person with the curry comb, but she did let me approach and halter her when I was ready. I tried a new bit on Cody. She'd been trained with a TomThumb type bit (shanked with broken mouth piece), but I've read that those types of bits can cause confusion with rein signals. Since she did seem to not respond super quickly when I rode her last fall (but she'd also had a couple months off before I climbed aboard after baby), I decided to try a solid mouth bit. So I have a very gently curved curb-type bit that I tried on her. Afterall, the severity of the bit is determined by the hands that are connected to it, not the bit itself. And those broken mouth type bits can really be severe when they pinch the mouth as they fold in half when pulled on.

I couldn't do any ground work before riding, since it was so muddy, so I took her for a walk down the road a ways first. She was excited and nervous. I'm really glad I walked her first, especially since I was riding bareback. Even so, she was still keyed up when I climbed aboard. We rode down the road and through the woods on some closed snowmobile trails. They were partly snow covered and partly bare. Cody was quite nervous and antsy and just wanted to go home. I guess that's what happens when you haven't ridden a horse all winter, it's melting snow, and a little windy. She did spook a couple of times at flushing grouse and the wind, but other than that, she was pretty good and responded really well to the bit. She turned very nicely and even bent her body in the right direction when neck-reining. I was surprised at myself for having such a good seat when she spooked while I rode bareback. It's been quite a long time since I've ridden! This was only the second time I'd ridden in the last year!

What a difference a week makes!

2011-03-22T19:37:00.000-07:00

One week ago, the snow was still pretty deep out in the pasture. Now, after a week of 40's and 50's and a little rain, most of the ground is bare, with the exception of the north facing slopes.

I wish that my new header pic was what spring looked like here right now, but unfortunately, that is a picture from last spring, taken in April.

This is what it looks like right now...dreary and muddy.

Today, we had sleet and some hail with thunderstorms. The horses stood under the bare leafless oaks for shelter. They could have stood in the shed, or under the dense pines (at least they have leaves!). Why they choose the places they do is beyond me. The dense pines are also on the same side of a hill that the oaks are, so they'd be blocked from winds coming from the same direction.

These pictures are from a week ago now already. Momma hen is pretty protective of her rapidly growing chicks. We started out with 6, but right away one died, and I think it was my fault. I think I startled the hen and she stepped on one chick. Then about a week and a half ago, the smallest chick suddenly went missing. I had them in a large wire dog kennel in the main coop area. I think the smallest one squeezed out of the cage and happened to find his way outside of the coop (I had left the door open overnight that night), and since it was below zero, I'm pretty sure he didn't make it. I found no other sign of him in the coop anywhere.

The rest of the chicks are doing great. They are really feathering out and growing up.

They are no longer in the large dog kennel. I moved them to the other half of the coop so that they could have more room.

Winter's end

2011-03-15T21:39:00.000-07:00

Even though the ground is still snow covered, the end of winter is in sight! Forecasted highs in the 50s and 60s (YAY!!!!) for the rest of this week promise to get rid of the remaining snow very quickly!

The horses bask in the sun at morning's first light.

Later, they are found napping while Chico stands sentinel.

Griffin and Kachina are so comfortable that they lay flat out while Chico guards them.

Later on, I saw Griffin get up and stand for a while and Chico laid down with the rest of the herd.

There is still a lot of snow in the pasture, but on some of the south facing slopes in our yard, there are bare patches of ground! Of course, they were found by the chickens today!

Most chickens I've ever seen really dislike snow. They won't walk in it if it is deeper than an inch or two. So, when the weather was nice this winter, I had to shovel a small patch outside their coop door so that they'd come out and get some fresh air. I didn't have to worry about shutting their fence door because there was no way they'd wander. Too much snow! But on this day, I did close the door, and even so, one determined hen found her way over the fence and ran across the old hard snow (hard because it had settled) to forage bird seed on the bare patches of ground around the bird feeder.

We are all excited for spring!

Playfight! Or maybe it's not playing?

2011-02-23T19:47:00.000-08:00

I've been reading about all the training that my blogger friends are getting started on this year, and I'm jealous! I ache to get out there and do something with my horses, but alas, the snow is too deep (and I'm tied to the baby indoors). Sometimes I really miss my setup in Idaho where I had an indoor round pen and the best trails ever right outside the barn. I'll just have to be happy watching my horses play in the field for now. This is what they were up to this morning...

Chico and Griffin really tear it up out in the field. They are the only two geldings amongst five mares. Sometimes I wonder if Griffin is trying unseat Chico from his higher standing, but I think most of the time, they are just playing. Griffin pesters Chico constantly though. I think most of these pictures need no captions. Remember, Griffin is the dun who will be 4 years old this year and Chico is the bay who will be 7 years old. Chico has always been a high standing member of my little herd, while Griffin has only just joined it a year ago.

Don't the mares look a little bored?

Cody and Kachina both pin their ears at the boys as they barge through the middle of the herd. They are saying: play your little hearts out, but don't run into me!

This picture may need a caption: Kachina (will be 5 years old, red dun mare) is heading up to get involved in what the boys are doing. She is the only mare that does so - gets all mixed up in the geldings playing. I'm not quite sure why she does it. She's lower than either of them in the herd hierarchy...maybe that's why. It's a time she gets to try to throw her own weight around and act tough. None of the other mare bother with "playing". It's beneath them.

After separating himself, Chico decides to head back down to the main herd at a full gallop.

Griffin and Kachina both lunge at him as he races by.

Chico gets back and immediately settles in to rest with the mares. He's pooped (he's overweight).

Kachina is still full of energy so she continues to pester Griffin to play. She isn't always the instigator. Just this time.

She kicks at him.

Then ends her kick with a lovely tail swat to the face!

I love watching them! The funniest thing is that later in the day, I saw the boys playing again, and somehow, Griffin got stuck under Chico! I think Chico reared up, came down over Griffin's back, and then becamse high-centered! The two of them kept whirling around and around trying to free themselves. I worried that they might get into the fence since this was all happening along the fenceline where they like to loaf, but thankfully they freed themselves without incident...then continued fighting like nothing had happened. If anything, it increased the intensity of their play. They were down on their knees biting eachother ferociously, and Chico was kicking Griffin repeatedly as Griffin kept chasing him and pestering him. Sometimes I really do wonder if Griffin isn't trying to drive Chico out of the herd, but then when they stop playing, everyone rests/grazes peacefully. I never see actual pinned ear chasing out of the herd...it's always aggressive rearing and playing all around and through the herd. And in the end, it seems like Chico is still above Griffin. Chico can make Griffin move out of his way when he really means it (usually that happens around the hay feeder).

Another online adoption

2011-02-22T21:42:00.000-08:00

The BLM is hosting another online adoption starting March 2nd. So far, there are not many horses uploaded online, but I think they'll probably add more before the adoption begins. What's special about these horses is that they are offering youngsters from the Sulphur Utah herd management area again - where Griffin and Kachina came from.

I am very unhappy with their photos of the horses this time though...they took them indoors in a small pen, so there are almost no good conformation shots and many are dark and shadowy, so the horses' coloring doesn't come through well. I think that a good picture is worth a thousand words and can make the difference between adoption and getting passed over. I wish they would have done better for these horses.

All the horses look a little rough, but I think it's exaggerated due to poor picture quality.

I LOVE this little filly's face! (wish I had more room!) She is so cute, even though I can see she's stressed (snot running down her nose).
Horse #4547

One of my favorite horses listed so far is this little 2 year old mare. Her facial expressions are wonderful and she is beautiful, although I fear that fact won't come across for most people and she may be passed up (because she is only bay and the pictures are terrible).
Horse #4543

Come on BLM, next time do better! It's worth it for you if it increases the likelihood of the horses to be adopted!

2011-02-22T21:32:00.000-08:00

I know a lot of my pictures look similar, but like I said, this is the view I get to see from my house. This morning was beautiful and sunny and the day after another Wisconsin blizzard. We had 1 week of above freezing weather and our several feet of snow had almost completely melted, but just one day of windy snowy weather, and it's ba-ack! I guess it's not quite spring yet, eh? This winter has had way more snow than average for this region.

The horses bask in the sun to warm up in the relief of the still weather. Windy blizzards suck a lot of heat from their bodies. Look at their long shadows!

Chicken lover

2011-02-20T15:54:00.000-08:00

Yes, I am a chicken lover. I can't explain it, but I've always had a fascination for birds, especially chickens. We built a fabulous chicken coop this summer for our house (so that we could have chickens in our back yard instead of at the farm). I ordered some chicks early last spring and they started laying eggs last fall. I like a variety of egg colors in my egg cartons, so I choose some hens for their attractive feathering, and others for the color of their eggs. Gold campines lay white eggs, cuckoo marans lay dark brown eggs, Welsummers lay dark brown eggs, and blue-laced red wyandottes lay light brown eggs. We also have a couple hens from our old farm yard henhouse and they are mostly mixed breed hens, but they are good layers. We have 19 hens and 2 roosters. We currently get around a dozen eggs a day and our extras go to family and neighbors.

So we do have a colorful carton of eggs.

The breeds we have are not known for being broody (willingness to hatch eggs), but every once in a while, you get a hen who is really in touch with her instincts and she gets the urge to set and incubate a clutch of eggs. We haven't had such a hen for several years, but this winter, one of my Welsummer hens decided she wanted to have her own chicks. So when I noticed her in the nest box all day several days in a row, we decided to give her some eggs and see if she'd hatch them.

I gave her a batch of 8 eggs that had been laid that day (not hers, a mix of the other hens), and blocked off her with a wire dog kennel so that other hens wouldn't interfere with her. I candled the eggs halfway through incubation and two were not fertile, but the others were dark. I threw out the unfertile eggs.

On Saturday, 21 days later, I was greeted by a chorus of cheeps!

Momma hen eyes me suspiciously, but she's actually a very trusting hen and lets me photograph them.

There are six chicks total, 3 are grey, 2 are brown speckled, and 1 is black. Our roosters are a gold campine and a blue-laced red wyandotte, so it is uncertain if any of the chicks are purebred or not, but it doesn't really matter. They are so stinkin' cute! And momma hen is doing a great job with them.

She pecks at food to show them what to eat, and they watch closely!

I threw a piece of bread in there to try to entice momma out so that I could get some pictures of her chicks, but she just reached out and pulled it close.

She ripped it to little pieces and dropped them in front of her chicks. They jumped in to feast. One little grey chick grabbed a chunk and ran to the next box over to swallow it in peace.

Even though he had a huge piece, he managed to gulp it down!

They are just so cute, and I am so excited to be able to watch momma hen nurture her babies.

Baby girl is growing!

2011-02-18T05:05:00.001-08:00

Here are some of my favorite recent pictures of Wren. She'll be 5 months old next week! She's sitting up unaided, eating some solid foods (she's loved every veggie that she's tried), she rolled over from her back to her belly at 4 months old, she "talks", and she giggles at just about everything!

Little mule

2011-02-13T21:53:00.001-08:00

These are the pictures that the rescue has on their website. I'm not exactly certain when they were taken, but by the looks of the trees and grass, I'd say late spring/early summer. We brought her home in April of 2010, so the pictures might be from summer 2009, and I guess her poor condition then could be due to her previous situation. However, she had difficulty shedding out and looked rough for a couple months after we got her last spring, which would be a year after the rescue pics. I'll be interested to see how she looks this spring. I know the rescue said they had her at least a year before we got her. She'll be 5 years old this summer.

This picture shows her shortly after we got her in spring. She is still not shed out, but she doesn't look as bad as I remember her being. It was probably mostly the rough coat that made her look in such poor condition and it was rough because it was old dull winter hair.

The following picture is her later in the summer. She'd shed out by then and was looking pretty glossy.

I guess the real test will be to see how she sheds out this spring.

Snowshoeing with the little monster

2011-02-13T20:57:00.000-08:00

We have had a very cold winter. I'd say it's been colder than average with highs only in the teens and even single digits more often than not. And we've also gotten quite a bit more snow than usual (added on to a summer with way more rain than usual - multiple storms that dumped 7-8 inches of rain at once). It's been a crazy year to say the least, especially given that we have a new addition to our family to add to that! Since it's been so cold, baby and I have been house bound. When the highs suddenly went from single digits the day before to almost 50 degrees today, we HAD to get outside! We decided to go snowshoeing around our place. We started out carrying baby in a wrap, but she became upset when she couldn't see well. Everytime she looked to the side, her hood would occlude her vision. So we ended up pulling her out of the wrap and carrying her. The conditions were absolutely perfect for snowshoeing! The snow had settled just enough that we only sank in about 4-5 inches (on top of another couple feet of snow).

Our path took us along the horse pasture, right past the area where I always watch them loafing.

They all of course came to investigate! Doesn't little Pumpkin look in fabulous condition? Granted, she also has lots of winter fluff, but she looks in great proportion compared to the big bellied, thin bodied animal that came to us. And you might think that I'm horrible, but I don't worm my horses constantly. I think that they can build up a bit of resistance to the parasites themselves. I've decided to only worm in the fall after the ground freezes so that they can have a winter parasite free.

Cody and Chico look so cute, but would you have guessed she had her ears laid back at him the moment before I snapped this photo?

Griffin is one handsome boy.

His zebra striping really stands out. He'll be 4 years old this spring, and I plan to really start working with him this summer, now that I'm no longer pregnant. I'll have to get someone to watch the little monster while I do that, but I really want to get back out and on my horses this year.

The lineup of horses. They are currently standing in their usual loafing spot. You can see how packed down they have the snow, although they are still standing on close to 2 feet of packed snow! Our house is visible in the background. I love to be able to see them from there during the day.

Kachina is also in good condition, although her slim build and high energy temperament prevent her from looking fat like some of the others. Kachina will be 5 this year, but she still looks and acts like a baby.

Kachina is interested in the little monster in Todd's arms. This picture shows how high the snow is. The top strand of wire is usually level with the base of the horses' necks when there is no snow.

My little monster is the cutest little girl in the world. She is now 4.5 months old and getting so active! In a future post, I'll show some of my favorite pics of her.

After we got to the top of the hill, I took over carrying the monster for Todd. She gets heavy! She weighs about 19 lbs now! She's thrived!

Jasper has a hard time in the snow as well. Him and Sage sink much more than we do, since they aren't wearing snow shoes. He doesn't care though. He's high energy enough that this barely wore him out...although I was wore out and had to take a nice long nap with my baby when we got home. Neither of us are used to all this fresh air!

wild dreams

2011-01-27T08:52:00.001-08:00

The horses spend lots of time out in the big pasture, even with the several feet of snow. Most of the time they are just loafing out here...

...but they also spend a lot of time digging through the snow for grass.

They have a feeder full of second crop alfalfa grass mix, but yet still they dig.

Are they lacking some minerals, even with two different kinds of mineral salt blocks?

Or are they listening to their wild hearts and keeping up their snow digging expertise just in case they return to the wild someday?

This of couse wouldn't apply to the 3 domestic born horses.

But even they must be wild in their dreams.

Even the tiniest member of the herd.

Her face bears the evidence of her grass hunting, even though she must have the most difficult time of all digging with her tiny hooves.

Brisk

2011-01-23T19:12:00.000-08:00

It was a cold day again, but the temps actually reached the teens today! Still, the horses basked broadside in the sun and their breath was visible in the crisp air.

This is the view that I see most often of my horses. I can use my telephoto lens to capture them in the field. When I give them water at night, it's usually dusk and I don't bring my camera, so I have no pics of them then.

2011-01-16T07:42:00.000-08:00

The horses love to loaf down along the fenceline next to the neigbor's pasture. People say that a horse won't pick their head up from a bale of hay even when they are full, but I don't see that with these guys. They have good quality grass/alfalfa mix in their feeder all the time, along with two trace mineral salt licks (one with selenium and one without). They do spent a lot of time eating, but I watch them loafing down here for several hours every day. Sometimes they sleep (some lay down), and sometimes they dig through the snow to graze on grass beneath. It's hilarious to watch Pumpkin dig into the snow to graze because the snow is just about to her belly in some places, and she buries her head to her ears! Sometimes when I greet them at the feeder, Pumpkin still has snow stuck all over her face!

Todd and I were discussing Pumpkin the other day and I don't think we will send her back to the rescue. She has potential in other areas beside cow guarding and I think I'll try to make time to work with her this summer. She's a good size for a kid and she's pretty fearless so she may make a good kids horse...but then again, she's also bull-headed so she may be difficult for a child to control. We'll see!

I have reservations about sending her back to the rescue anyway. My opinion of the rescue is that the woman running it is only a step or two above being an animal hoarder. She had dogs chained to trees, running loose (the neighbor apparently shot one of her pregnant dogs when it was running loose through his field), goats, and tons of horses. The horses were all in good condition weight-wise, but now that I look back at Pumpkin when we got her and compare her condition to how she is now...The rescue had her for about a year before we adopted her, so her condition when we picked her up last spring was due to the rescue's treatment. Last spring, she had a very dull, rough, scruffy winter coat and it took her well into the summer to shed that coat. Once she completely shed, she was lovely and shiny. And now, her winter coat is just thick and luxurious. It is a dark chestnut color. We'll see how her coat looks this spring as she sheds, but I think that she'll have an easier time shedding and her coat won't look so rough as it does. We'll see. I think that rescue was a little overcommitted and couldn't keep each animal in top condition. They had 30+ horses and had to feed hay year round because they didn't have enough pasture for them.

Happy New Year!

2010-12-31T19:29:00.000-08:00

It's Baby New Year!

I hope 2011 is just as rewarding as 2010!

In 2010, I completed my first year of vet school with straight A's, I got married, and I had a baby! I think we were quite blessed in 2010.

In 2011, I anticipate a much more challenging time as I head back to my second year of vet school in the fall after a year break to be with my baby. I think that taking classes and having to be away from my baby for days at a time will be the hardest thing I have ever done. I already am not sure how I'll be able to swing it. If I had to go back right this very minute, there is no way I could leave her yet. She is just way to dependent on me and she would not cope well with Momma being gone. I really hope that by next fall, when she is a year old, that she will be a bit more independent of me, although I know she will still need me a lot (and I'll need her!). See, my husband and I live 2 hours from the school, so I'll have to stay in an apartment near school during the week. Some evenings, Todd will be able to come down, bring baby, and stay with me down there, but only after the ground freezes and they are not busy at work anymore.

In 2011, I am also planning a party to celebrate our marriage last year. We will celebrate on our 1 year anniversary. With being pregnant last year, I didn't much feel like partying, but I definitely will this next summer!

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-25T00:55:00.000-08:00

And Happy Holidays!

My baby was 3 months old on Christmas Eve.

I am so blessed.

Snow circles

2010-12-20T21:44:00.000-08:00

No, I didn't lunge a horse out there! After the last big snow, I looked out over the pasture one morning and saw that the horses had made a perfect circle in the snow. They did this as a group through the knee deep snow!

Sassy meets Pumpkin

2010-12-16T19:13:00.000-08:00

Here is the 'Sassy and Pumpkin Meet' post, as promised.

Remember, we got Pumpkin in the Spring to serve as a guard animal. Todd had some problems with coyotes in the past and thought a guard animal would be something to try. Usually, donkeys are used with cows, but I also know that mules can be pretty fearless protectors. I found Pumpkin through a rescue. She was a 4 year old pony mule. The rescuer said that she chased dogs in the pasture, so we decided to give it a try.

Unfortunately, Pumpkin did not take to the cows. She stood on the hill along the fenceline, calling to the horses (mine) that she could see across the valley. She ignored the cows, unless they were in her way. In that case, she pinned her ears and the cows scattered. They were scared to death of tiny Pumpkin, even though they were much larger.

Todd's nephew had a horse that he had lost interest in. He'd just gotten her that spring from a friend of his who was planning to attend college the next fall. But then, he also got a motorcycle and the horse fell on the back burner. The horse, Sassy, was a 5 year old paint/appaloosa mare who'd only been trail ridden previously. She is super friendly with people, but had been kept alone since her previous owner acquired her as a weanling. Sassy didn't have any social skills. She had been standing alone in a little pasture for most of the spring and summer and her pasture was getting rather eaten down, so Todd's nephew decided to turn her out with the cows and Pumpkin.

I thought that Pumpkin would be delighted to have an equine friend, but boy was I wrong! She saw Sassy as an intruder. She ran a couple of circles around Sassy, then promptly rounded up her cows and drove the painted intruder away from them!
If you look closely in this picture, you can see Sassy standing at the gate begging to be let out, while Pumpkin stands guard in her cow herd.

The tiny little mule had shed out into a lovely shiny chestnut color over the summer.

When I entered the pasture, Sassy followed me, looking for some security. I walked up the hill away from the cows.

Pumpkin watches from within her cow herd. Click the picture to see it bigger if you can't pick her head out!

Pumpkin decides to come up and see what's going on.

She sniffs the intruder's poo.

Then she sets chase after Sassy! Sassy runs for her life! This picture captures Sassy's stance well. It's almost as though she doesn't know how to run. She sort of "stots" like a mule deer.

Sassy runs right through the cow herd!

Pumpkin returns to the center of her herd, while Sassy must stand outcast.

Pumpkin comes again to check Sassy out and perhaps give her another talking to.

Sassy watches, prepared to run.

Within a week, these two were best friends. Pumpkin was definitely the boss of the two-some. This was the start of Pumpkin taking the protector role in the herd. Unfortunately, she took that role too far. She was with the cows that were about to have their first calves. Most of Todd's cows calve in the fall (to sell during that time when the demand is higher due to lower supply), but he always has the first calf heifers calve earlier so that their calves have a bit more substance to them going into winter. So, as summer went on, the heifers started having their calves. Pumpkin decided that the calves were hers. Some of them, she tried to steal from their mothers. I watched her do it. She would basically walk alongside the calf, circling around it and blocking it from its mother. The calf would start following her. If the mother tried to intervene, Pumpkin pinned her ears and even kicked the cow! The cows gave up. Probably if she'd been with the more experienced cows, she would not have gotten away with this. She had to eventually be removed from the pasture with her pal, Sassy, to prevent any further problems.

Pumpkin is a very interesting little animal. I remember when we visited the rescue, she was in heat. She displayed and teased the horses and managed to convince a gelding to mount her! It was kinda funny because she is so little. So, Pumpkin displays very intense heats, even though she is a mule, and is therefore sterile. There must be something in her that wants a baby so bad. I bet she would be a fantastic nanny to a foal that lost a mother...if she could be made to lactate.

Now, Sassy and Pumpkin are integrated into my herd. Pumpkin is no longer the queen of the pasture, but she doesn't seem to mind so much. I think she likes being with the other horses.

Blizzardy weather

2010-12-11T17:30:00.000-08:00

Oh the weather outside is frightful, but inside is so delightful.

While Daddy and baby Wren doze...

Let it snow! Let it snow! Let it snow!

We are having some blizzardy weather here in Wisconsin. While snow makes farm chores difficult, it is so pretty. It's the weekend, so my honey was home and more than happy to watch the baby while she napped, giving me a chance to get outside and play in the snow.

I went to visit the horses. While they have a barn available to them, they prefer to stand out exposed to the weather. If it gets really harsh, they just stand behind some brush or a hill to block the wind.

They have a nice insulative layer of snow.

During the winter and in dim light Chico and Cody look almost identical (Cody left, Chico right)

Sassy and Pumpkin have pretty much been accepted into the herd. Kachina is delighted because she is no longer the low horse on the totem pole. Both Pumpkin and Sassy are at the bottom. Kachina is the horse that I most often see pestering them and using her new-found power to move them around.

Kachina and Catlow rest, butts to the wind.

Catlow is unimpressed with the storm.

Kachina has icicles hanging from the whiskers around her eyes. They don't seem to bother her.

Growing baby

2010-12-11T14:34:00.000-08:00

Wren is getting so big! And she's becoming more fun every day. She will be 3 months old exactly on Christmas Eve.

There are now seven equines in my pasture! AHHHH!

2010-11-30T08:51:00.000-08:00

On Sunday after Thanksgiving, we turned Pumpkin (pony mule) and her friend Sassy (paint/appaloosa) out with my horses. Pumpkin was originally adopted to be a guard animal to protect calves from coyotes and wolves. She started out not being protective at all but progressed to being too protective. She was with the first calf heifers and started stealing the new calves from their young mommas. She managed to break the bond between one pair and Todd spent a whole week trying to get the cow to accept her calf back. He had to pen them up and actually chase the cow into a chute and maneuver the calf to his mom to allow the calf to suckle several times a day. The cow eventually rebonded with her calf. Needless to say, Todd is not too pleased with the mule. He tried putting her with the bull but she kicks him in the head and steals the grain he needs to keep his energy up to breed cows. Todd is tired of maneuvering around the two, so they'll spend the winter with mine. Next spring we'll return Pumpkin to the rescue (they made me signn a paper saying she'd go back to them if we didn't want her anymore). Sassy is for sale. Todd's nephew is no longer interested in his horse (he got a motorcycle last summer) so I'll probably take the initiative to get her sold. She is a 5-year old grade mare who has only been trail ridden by a teenage girl before she sold her to Todd's nephew last summer.

We kept the two in the mustang pen overnight to let the horses get used to eachother through the panels. Then we turned them out. I blocked 4 of my herd out in the big pasture and left Cody (boss mare) in to meet the newcomers and put them in their place (this has always worked very well before). Pumpkin is a little animal with big attitude. She thinks she can bully anyone into getting her way. She's really good with people, but a bully around cows and now we'll see how she is with horses. Sassy is just a follower. She was never socialized with other horses. She was kept alone from weanling stage through this summer as a 5 year old. Pumkin is her first equine friend and she follows her everywhere.

My horses realize something is up. Cody is on this side of the fence and Kachina is on the other side of the fence.

As Pumpkin and Sassy head out where the other horses are, the herd of 4 scatters and Cody really wants to scatter with them. She runs out into the other pasture along the fenceline to stay close to them and get away from the newcomers.

Cody really wanted to be with the other horses. I think the mule's fearless attitude, combined with the fact that there were two of them and only one of her left her feeling very vulnerable.

Ghost watches the goings-on from a safe place.

And there goes Pumpkin, exploring her new place, with Sassy hot on her heals...I wasn't worried about Sassy ganging up on Cody, she's a big chicken with other horses.

Cody watches, horrified as they get closer.

Seriously, the mule is fearless. If she wants to go somewhere, she goes and expects everyone to get out of her way...like bowling pins reacting to a bowling ball! Cody is freaked.

Here, you can see Cody has joined the others. She ended up running up into the woods, then made a decision and went through the fence to be with her buddies. Meanwhile, Pumpkin and Sassy head out to explore other parts of the pasture. Don't worry, Cody is fine. The two strands of hotwire snapped easily as she went through...normally she has great respect for the fence.

As they go out of sight, Kachina can't stand not being able to gawk at them, so she goes trotting with a purpose, through the gate (which I now opened) to check them out more. But she doesn't go near them, she comes around so that she can stare at her buddies.

Cody and Chico look for the newbies...doesn't Cody look freaked out?

Griffin and Catlow look for the newbies and hope that Kachina doesn't fall prey to the evil mule.

Then Pumpkin decides to head out into the big pasture where all the other horses are...I don't think she went to meet them, rather to explore her new territory. She didn't pay much attention to them. Sassy, hot on her heels...

Kachina watches with fascination...she's still separated from the others by a fence, but now she's safe from the mule and new horse.

At this point, there are now two distractions for my horses. Griffin and Cody are staring at the mule and horse, while Catlow and Chico are staring at the turkeys who have discovered the pasture and are foraging up near the house.

Cody, with Chico's help, confronts the mule and tries to run her off.

They succeed. I noticed that as time went on, the two geldings were the ones running the newbies away from the herd, while the mares stayed together and stayed out of it. Normally, my mares put the newbies in their place...but they've never faced a mule before.

Sassy must also have some arab in her; that tail stayed curled over her back anytime she got near the other horses.

Fearless Pumpkin leads Sassy to check out the turkeys.

Kachina can't decide who is scarier...the turkeys or the new horses.

The geldings stand guard.

The mares stand back.

The herd decides to take action.

I wanted them to all meet in the big pasture because there is no place for anyone to get caught and ganged up on. It's just big open space. The only danger here then is someone gets up to much speed and can't stop when they encounter a fence...thankfully that didn't happen here. My fences are very well marked so that the mustangs could see it well when I first turned them out.

Pumpkin and Sassy take flight.

My horses (minus Kachina who hasn't managed to get up the courage to come through the gate to meet them because it means walking toward the turkeys eventhough they are far far away) stand and watch the newbies. I think their colors are beautiful in the fall sun with the dead grass as a backdrop.

They seemed to be doing well, so I left them to get to know eachother better. Later, I watched them from the house. Pumpkin was grazing in the middle of the pasture, fairly close to the herd, while Sassy was standing in the far corner near the house watching them...everytime she got anywhere near the herd, Griffin would jump in and run her off...really run her off. He was running her full speed up the fenceline. Funny that Pumpkin was allowed to grazed closer to them. They did chase her off, but halfheartedly and they seemed to mostly ignore her. I wonder if Sassy is outcast because of her spots...Griffin is from a herd where all the horses are solid colored...no white.

Monday morning all 7 critters are upright, although they are segregating themselves. The pasture is big enough so this works out just fine.

This morning they are getting along even better, though Sassy is still an outcast...I think that's a combination of Griffin chasing her off and Sassy not knowing how to defend herself.

I think I'll have to go back in my pic files and post some about when Sassy first met Pumpkin...very entertaining!

Happy Halloween!

2010-10-31T15:00:00.000-07:00

Wren is just over 5 weeks old for her first Halloween!

4 weeks old!

2010-10-21T16:07:00.000-07:00

Wren will be 4 weeks old tomorrow! I'm going to take her in and get her weighed. She seems like she has grown quite a bit. Every day her eyes are wider and she's more aware of her world.

She's even smiling already!

My mom got some video of her cooing after I gave her a shower (we don't do baths...I just bring her in the shower with me and she likes it. She stays warmer that way.)

birth announcement

2010-09-28T13:17:00.000-07:00

Todd and I would like to announce the birth of our daughter, Wren Kathryn. She was born at 11:27pm on Friday September 24th, 2010. She weighed 8 lbs and 10 oz and was 21 inches long. She is absolutely perfect and is the light of our lives. I can't even describe how it feels to be a mother and hold this tiny person in my arms. Todd and I are overwhelmed with this new experience and can't believe how fullfilled we feel. It really is such a special thing. I could go on and on, but I'll just share some pictures of our precious girl.

Our family

Wren sleeping

Wren asking to be fed

I had a long labor (27 hours of active labor, plus the 13 hours of light painless labor leading up to that), but we made it through and it was all worth it! She really is just perfect. And I feel pretty good already, just 5 days later.

I can already see that I am going to be quite consumed with her, but I don't mind. I will still try to get out there and ride this fall when I feel able too, but if not, I won't feel guilty about it. I still will get a chance to mess with my horses, but right now, I have a new priority. And she is the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. And this is all coming from a woman who used to never want to have children! But then I met a man with whom I knew I wanted to share this special experience with, and the rest is history! It is wonderful. We are cherishing it!

pregnancy update

2010-09-17T17:02:00.000-07:00

Well, as of today, I am one week past my due date. But stats say that first time mothers on average give birth 8 days past their due date. So technically, that means I'm not late yet! Last week I was discouraged because after my exam, the doctor said baby was not descended yet and my cervix was still closed. A few days ago, I began to feel some differences...the top of my stomach seemed lower and I was getting some nerve pains on the inside of my left leg throughout the day (instead of just in the evening). And sure enough, today, the doctor said baby is descended and I am 2 cm dilated! Yay! Things are moving along! I was secretly starting to fear that I just wouldn't go into labor at all. I have an appointment to be induced on Sept 24th, but I really just want to go into labor naturally because I am going to do it without pain meds (hopefully). Everyone I've spoken to that has been induced said it is very painful and contractions come unnaturally intense. I feel like I can handle the pain if it is natural, but if it is artificially induced, I fear I won't be able to handle it both physically and psychologically. I made the choice to do no pain meds because of the risks involved for the baby when you use them. Even epidurals carry some risks, and babies are not as aware at birth as their unmedicated counterparts. Plus, I don't want someone sticking a needle into my spine. Ick! Women have been giving birth for thousands of years without pain meds. I can handle it. Birth is a natural process! After all the stuff I've read, I do understand that risks to the baby increase when you get past 42 weeks, but I worry that most doctors are too induction happy...Someone I know just had a baby yesterday - she was induced and was 13 days past her due date. However, when the baby was born, they measured her to be at 38 weeks! So clearly someone was not ready yet! Can you imagine how bad it would be if they tried to induce earlier? I also know someone else who had a baby 3.5 weeks late, back in the days when they didn't induce. Her baby was 10lbs, a girl, and definitely more aware than the average newborn, indicating that she was more than ready to come out...and her labor was the easiest of her 3 kids, she said. Her other babies (one before and one after) were only 7 lbs, but both were much longer labors. So, it is perfectly possible to deliver a healthy baby past the estimated due date without interventions. After all, they say 40 weeks, plus or minus 2 weeks!

Another farrier visit

2010-09-07T13:17:00.001-07:00

The farrier came out again today. This is the third time he's worked on my horses this summer. The first time, the wild ones gave him a little trouble on their right hind, but eventually we got them all trimmed. The second time, we skipped their hind feet and just did their fronts, since it was super muddy in the paddock, and I didn't feel like struggling with them in my pregnant state. They were very good for their fronts. This time, I was worried, because it was really windy and chilly (about 60 degrees, but we've been used to 80-90 degrees and high humidity just two weeks ago!). It was so windy it was whipping acorns off the oak trees and they were rattling off the tin roof of the shed. But when I called the horses in from the pasture, they all came, ate some oats, and then stood calmly looking at me, despite the wind. Griffin even approached me and I haltered him right away! Kachina too. Sometimes even the "tame" ones get a little snorty about getting caught (that was how it was last time), but it was almost as though they all wanted to be caught and scratched on today. Perhaps it's the lack of flies...they don't have that frantic fly bitten feeling. I really was surprised, especially since once, when the farrier was working on Kachina, an acorn bounced off the roof and hit her in the head! She hardly reacted!

The tame ones were probably the most difficult to work on today because they were so relaxed that they just didn't want to stand up and support their own weight. They were really leaning on the farrier, and I had to keep poking at them to get them to stand up. Perhaps it's the extra couple hundred pounds they've all gained over the summer. I feel awful about the weight they've gained, but so far, no one has been "sick" from it and they'll likely lose it this winter. It's easier to ration them over the winter. With all the rain we've had this summer, the pastures (and our lawn too) have grown like crazy and there has been no shortage of graze! I'd consider Chico to be the fattest out of them all. He's very very round. I'll have to get some pictures of him. The only ones that are not fat are Cody (only because she just got back from training), Griffin and Kachina. I think Griffin is not fat because he's still growing, and Kachina just is too high strung to put on a lot of weight.

The two wild ones actually did very very well today. Both of them are still a little bit worse about their hind feet, but if the farrier just stands and lets them get used to him being back there (sometimes it's just really hard to have a human back by your butt), then they'll stand still. They each took the "bad" hoof (the right hind) away from him only once, and then let him finish with it no problem. I'd call that extremely good! All the other feet he was able to hold up until he was done without a problem. This would be great for a nice day, but to have this on a day with high winds! Awesome! I was pleased with them! Especially since I really have not done a thing with them at all this summer. A few weeks ago, I did bring them all in again for fly spray (which they accept very well because they do understand it makes icky flies go away).

Spending time with them like I did today really makes me anxious to get out and work with them again. I really can't do it yet though, and I am glad I've taken time off. It gave them a chance to just settle, and it's kept me from overdoing it. Just holding 5 horses (and having to maneuver the two wild ones into position and convince them that they COULD hold still while the farrier approached) has left me very sore. I was fine while working with them, but right now, my hips are so achey! Changing positions from sitting to standing/walking are the worse! I'm currently only 3 days away from my due date and very anxious to get my body back! I just want the aches and pains to go away! I know it will take time after baby comes, but at least I know I should be feeling better every day instead of worse!

Geldings playing

2010-09-03T07:50:00.000-07:00

Last night I stood on the deck and watched the boys, Chico and Griffin, play for a while. Kachina joined in with them a couple of times when they involved her in it, but for the most part stayed out of it. I took a few pictures, but they turned out pretty poorly because the sun was setting. The low light and the need to use zoom made the pictures a little blurry. But I'm posting them anyway because they are entertaining. :)

Getting close

2010-08-27T06:15:00.000-07:00

I'm 38 weeks along today! Only 2 more weeks until my due date!

Cody came home from the trainer last week

2010-08-26T09:07:00.001-07:00

We brought Cody home from the trainer last Friday. I just haven't gotten around to posting about it, but I actually did take my camera along this time and took some pictures of the trainer riding her. Unfortunately, I couldn't get any cantering pictures because the dust created by it prevented my camera from focusing on the horses.

There were many other horses in the arena when Patti rode Cody for me. Patti has a very busy barn. She rides and trains quarter horses for showing for both herself and clients. And she trains trail horses as well. She also offers 2 lessons per month on your horse as part of the training fee to make sure you know how to ride your horse. I didn't ride her, but Patti invited me to come back later in the fall to ride with her, especially if I have any questions. She also has a small number of young woman that ride horses for her, since Patti couldn't possibly do it all herself. So, in the arena, there were a couple of people there riding their own horses that Patti had trained. One it seemed was just a trail horse, but a fairly green one. The other rider seemed like she had her horse there for Patti to train for showing. In addition, there were a couple other horses there being ridden by Patti's help. One I know for sure is a show horse. The other, I wasn't sure. So, it was a pretty full arena including Cody. But, Cody did very well. She seemed to have really gotten over being afraid of other horses coming too close to her or coming up behind her.

In this picture, Cody is the horse directly behind the red dun.

Cody stood very patiently everytime Patti stopped to focus on another rider and give instructions.

Then it was time to load her up and take her home! My mom accompanied me on this trip. My husband was busy but didn't want me to drive an hour and a half away from home alone. He said he had visions of a state trooper delivering our baby on the side of a road with a horse standing in the trailer. Didn't happen, but would have made for a good story! (I'm still pregnant...8.5 months now!).

At home, we had an eager line-up of greeters, but Cody was only interested in the grass. She was stalled most of the time with only a couple hours a day on turnout. The turnouts were very green, but on closer inspection, the green was primarily all weeds and very little grass.

My mom took this picture of the wild ones. It kind of makes me smile. Kachina, the untrusting little mare that she is turns away from my mom who is holding that crazy black thing, while Griffin just looks on calmly. If I was holding the camera, Kachina wouldn't have turned away. She trusts me more :)

Cody is in fabulous condition after being in training for 2 months. She lost her pudge and gained a lot of muscle. Plus she is just sleek and fit. She is darker than when I took her there because she has already started to grow in her darker winter hair with the shortening of days. So has Chico.

The only thing I was unhappy about with Cody in training is that they trimmed her face up like a show horse. I probably wouldn't have minded them just trimming her whiskers, but they also trimmed all her whiskers (around muzzle and eyes) PLUS they trimmed her eyelashes! I never knew anyone does that and it seems like it would be so detrimental to the protection of their eyes! Cody is not a show horse. She lives in a very rugged pasture with a lot of brush, trees, and other things. She has to deal with flies and crazy weather. I was not happy about the trimmed eyelashes at all and I think one of Patti's help heard me tell my mom about it. I didn't think it was a big enough deal to address it with Patti. If I ever took her back there, I would for sure ask them not to trim her face up.

Chico was so happy that Cody was back, but she wasn't really interested in meeting her old buddies again. She was much more concerned about grass. Chico, stood at the gate hoping I'd let him out to greet her.

Here are some pictures of Griffin and Kachina, although they don't really show how much they've grown.

See, if I hold the camera, Kachina will still come right up to me!

Again, Chico really wants Cody to greet him, but Cody is too "busy".

Finally, she obliges him with a sniff.

I kept Cody in off the pasture and introduced her to it slowly this past week to make sure she didn't get sick on it. It was a non-event when I first turned her back out with the others. Well, actually, they all filed into her pen to eat her hay, while she went out and explored the pasture on her own, having not been home in a while. She kept coming back to check on them and whinny to them, but they had absolutely no interest in following her around. They just wanted to stand in the barn and eat hay. Finally, she settled and started grazing grass just outside the pen so that she could still see her buddies.

And now that she's been home for almost a week, it is interesting to see how things in the herd have changed since before she left. I think she is still the "boss", but I rarely see her pushing the other horses around at all. I think she's just happy to be back with them. Catlow is definitely lead mare. She leads, and they all follow. Cody is the first one to follow Catlow, practically right on her heels. And I think that Chico is not as attached to Cody as he used to be. I see Cody and Catlow together the most right now.